Expert: Marc Eichler - 1/21/2011

Question
Hey Marc,

        As the subject line states, I have a query regarding the future of military jet fighters, but first a little context.

I'm a screenwriter who has recently been pitched an idea to recreate the feel of Top Gun, but with a Futuristic slant. The Producer pitches it as space-age military fighter jets waging a world war on earth in the not too distant future (say 2030-50).

So, taking that date into account, my question pertains essentially to what military craft will be like. Will they have managed to go hypersonic or able to drift in and out of the atmosphere like scramjet? Is there any point in the application of hypersonics to military craft if it means the ship can't turn on a sixpence? Would stealth technology be employed?  etc etc.

I want to stress there is a fair amount of artistic lisence here, so whilst examples of actual crafts being developed would be great, equally it could be what you forsee as being viable based on current technological trends. My thought process is that I'm looking for crafts that are highly manoueverable. Light weight jets. Maybe with the ability to hover and strafe. Anything that could believably be the future of fighter jets. Including what the onboard weaponry might be like by 2030-2050.

As an extension of that, I have this idea that the crafts could be DNA linked to their pilot. That only he can fly them and that it utilizes biotechnology to enable him to pilot with his mind. Obviously this is pretty advanced for 2050, but as I said there is a fair amount of artistic liscence involved. So that could be factored in should you go down the hypothetical route of estimating what fighter jets might be like.

But to be honest any help would be gratefully received. Thankin' you in advance.

regards

Alex

Answer
You have an interesting concept here.  Please don't mind if I respond a little out of order.  At least in the US Military, you will never see aircraft DNA linked to a particular pilot.  This is because most pilots don't have one particular airframe that they fly.  This would probably be your more senior pilots, but even then, I don't believe that will ever happen.

In terms of drifting in and out of the atmosphere, we aren't that far from that.  Just look at the A-12 and SR-71 Blackbird.  Both flew very close to the boundary of where Earth becomes space, as does the U-2.  In terms of being hypersonic, there are those who believe that it already exists.  Look up an alleged aircraft called the Aurora, which was supposedly tested (and could still be undergoing tests) at Area 51 in Nevada.

And lastly, in terms of hovering, that is definitely possible.  We have the Harrier jump jet that can take off vertically, and I don't think modifications to that to allow it to hover are too far out of the question.  Also look at the F-35C which is being developed for the Marine Corps.

So in short, the only point that I feel is too far sci-fi to be in a "Top Gun"-type movie is the DNA linking to a pilot.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Marc