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Lockheed Martin out of US Navy F/A-XX competition
According to Breaking Defense, Lockheed Martin is out of US Navy Next Generation Air Dominance (F/A-XX) sixth-generation fighter jet program.
The proposal submitted by Lockheed Martin to the service did not satisfy the US Navy’s criteria, a source with knowledge on the matter explained to Breaking Defense. What we know is that up to November proposals were evaluated by the service but as of today is not clear when Lockheed Martin was knocked out of the project. However, the company is no longer proceeding with any bid.
Northrop Grumman and Boeing are left to race one against the other to replace F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft by means of a new air superiority fighter. Noteworthy if Northrop Grumman had to win the F/A-XX contract it would be the first time that the company builds a fighter since the iconic F-14 Tomcat; instead if Boeing had to win the F/A-XX contract its facility in St. Louis could see a brighter future given that the company builds fighters in that facility.
Lockheed referred a request for comment to the Navy. The Navy did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
However, the company still has a chance to build a sixth-generation fighter in case it wins the US Air Force competition for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) where Lockheed Martin is running against Boeing. Instead, Northrop Grumman instead announced on Jul. 27, 2023 that won’t compete to be the prime contractor on the US Air Force’s NGAD fighter program.
US Navy Next Generation Air Dominance
As already explained, the US Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter will operate as the service’s “quarterback” for manned and unmanned teaming in future carrier operations.
In a written testimony to Congress in May 2022, Navy officials said that the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is meant to expand the range for carrier-based operations.
“The NGAD [family of systems] will replace the F/A-18E/F Block II aircraft as they begin to reach end of service life in the 2030s and leverage Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) in order to provide increased lethality and survivability,” reads joint testimony from Department of Navy acquisition officials. “F/A-XX is the strike fighter component of the NGAD FoS that will be the ‘Quarterback’ of the MUM-T concept, directing multiple tactical platforms at the leading edge of the battlespace.”
The Navy initiated the “concept refinement” stage for F/A-XX, which is expected to be a manned fighter, in Fiscal Year 2021.
The concept for NGAD is that a family of manned and unmanned systems will work together, centered around F/A-XX which will be a manned fighter. The F/A-XX platform will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in 2030s as they reach the end of their service lives.
Evaluation of mix of F/A-XX, manned and unmanned platforms
The US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said in a document called “Navy Aviation Vision 2030-2035,” released in November 2021 that “The CVW of the 2030s achieves a complementary mix of F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet, and next generation strike fighter (F/A-XX), with the F/A-18E/F Block III providing the backbone of the CVW through 2035. […] The advanced carrier based power projection capabilities resident in F/AXX will maintain CVN relevance in advanced threat environments. […] The appropriate mix of F/A-XX, manned and unmanned platforms will be evaluated to ensure the most lethal and affordable CVW possible.”
Since the F-14 Tomcat interceptor left the inventory in 2006 the effective combat radius of the carrier air wing has contracted. Since the Pentagon’s strategy focused on the Indo-Pacific and the need to counter China in a potential conflict, the Navy has had to explore ways to extend the range of carrier operations due to the vastness of the region. The MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier tanker will nominally increase the combat radius.
The service in 2016 began forecasting plans to seek a family-of-systems approach, now known as Next Generation Air Dominance. However, the family of systems approach will see the Navy going down a path similar to the US Air Force’s NGAD pursuits, in which the Navy buys a manned fighter and uses different unmanned systems to supplement the mission.
Photo credit: Rodrigo Avella
