Air Force Starts Multibillion-Dollar Contest for New Fighter Jet
Story by Tony Capaccio • Yesterday 1:01 PM
(Bloomberg) -- The Air Force formally opened a multibillion-dollar contest to replace the F-22 Raptor fighter jet that’s likely to draw competing bids by US aerospace giants Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.
The service issued a “Request for Proposals” on Thursday for the full-scale development phase of the Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter, or NGAD, that’s intended to fly in tandem with drones that are being developed in a separate program. The service intents to award a development contract in 2024 with the new fighter entering service in the 2030s.
“This solicitation release formally begins the source selection process, providing industry with the requirements the Air Force expects for NGAD, as the replacement of the F-22,” the service said in a statement as it gave contractors the classified request. “The NGAD Platform represents a generational leap in technology over the F-22,” Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said.
The Air Force is asking Congress in its fiscal 2024 budget request to retire 32 of the older, so-called Block 20 F-22s that are no longer deemed combat-capable and shift the money it’s taking to maintain them into the new fighter program.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/air-force-starts-multibillion-dollar-contest-for-new-fighter-jet/ar-AA1bmXKb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=4ca464c393be497ce405f8557ef2a702&ei=12
