What will sixth-generation aircraft like the Tempest mean for the future of air combat?

Watch: Sixth-gen fighter jets to bring significant leap in capability

The next generation of fighter aircraft is set to bring advanced weapons, increased stealth, deep AI integration and the ability to work alongside unmanned combat aircraft, according to a defence expert.

Dr James Bosbotinis said the leap in capabilities will be significant enough to qualify the aircraft as sixth-generation, with current advanced fighters like the F-35 Lightning and F-22 Raptor defined as the fifth-generation, with those like the Typhoon and Rafale being fourth.

Sixth-gen aircraft will involve the use of new technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and complex collaborations with uncrewed platforms - known as manned/unmanned teaming or loyal wingmen.

AI will assist pilots with the overall picture of the battle space the aircraft is operating in.

Dr Bosbotinis told Forces News: "Already something like the F-35 has tremendous computing power and its sensors are hoovering up a vast amount - sixth-generation aircraft will build upon that.

"AI would look to enhance how that data is processed and bring it to the pilot."

In addition, smart weapons will be able to communicate with each other within the battlespace and adapt their targeting while in flight.

Dr Bosbotinis said: "It's bringing in a quantum leap in performance in what your aircraft can do, in how weapons integrate and how aircraft both crewed and uncrewed operate together and with what wider assets."

He predicts the biggest challenge for sixth-generation fighters will be the close collaboration between crewed and uncrewed assets, calling it a radical shift in how air operations are conducted.

"AI is of course seen as a great enabler of that to help facilitate that process, but it's something that's going to require experimentation and a lot of development," he explained.

The Royal Air Force is looking at Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) to do a variety of roles, which it intends to bring into service by around 2030.

Given the extreme financial cost of sixth-generation crewed aircraft, ACPs like the US's loyal wingman are designed to be much more affordable, so you can restore mass and provide extra airframes.

Asked whether drones would ever be allowed to decide on their own whether to engage an enemy, Dr Bosbotinis said: "The most part is always going to be a human either in the loop or on the loop.

"Other countries, Russia, for example, may view things differently and allow autonomous platforms to engage.

"But I would think that Western countries will keep things much more with a human involved in decision-making."