The Western defense coalition is already planning on its sixth-generation fleet of fighter jets to counter the aviation advances made by Russia and China in recent years. The United States and its NATO allies have begun the planning stage for its next generation fighter jets in a bid to ensure lasting air superiority over novel fifth-generation Russian and Chinese fighter jets with a view for producing the next generation combat aircraft in the early 2030s. While the West has long held the mantle on stealth designed fighter jets starting with the F-22 Raptor and subsequently the F-35 Lightning, both China and Russia's defense aviation industries have caught up to the United States in recent years with the unleashing of the Chengdu J-20 and the Russian T-50 (PAK-FA) which pose a significant threat to NATO's longstanding aerial dominance. The urgency in developing the latest generation in fighter jet technology comes at a time when the West finds its relations with both China and Russia