US F/A-XX and F-X 6th Gen Aircraft News Thread

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HighGround

Senior Member
Registered Member
99PLAAFBalloons said:
Northrop Grumman drops out of the race to be the prime for the USAF NGAD

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Looks like they're focused on the F/A-XX instead. Surely makes Lockheed the shoe-in for the USAF project then? I can't remember where I heard it from but I think there were murmurings that Boeing weren't looking good in the USAF race
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Lockheed Martin has the best lobbyists in the world. They're a global leader in that area.
 
siegecrossbow

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
99PLAAFBalloons said:
Northrop Grumman drops out of the race to be the prime for the USAF NGAD

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Looks like they're focused on the F/A-XX instead. Surely makes Lockheed the shoe-in for the USAF project then? I can't remember where I heard it from but I think there were murmurings that Boeing weren't looking good in the USAF race
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Shame. Looked forward to seeing them take another crack at the fighter game post YF-23.
 
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SlothmanAllen

Junior Member
Registered Member
I am wondering if Northrop felt it was better to prioritize their resources on B-21 and RQ-180? They might have felt NGAD would be a drain on those projects and potentially hurt their ability to deliver on time and on budget which could impact profitability in the long run.

I think there must be some industrial base concerns that go along with this award. Obviously they want to make sure the aircraft can be delivered on time and budget as much as possible, but they also probably want to continue to have Lockheed, Boeing and Northrop as viable Prime Contractors for fighter jet design and production.
 
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gelgoog

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
B-21 presentation was, like expected, just for marketing purposes. One year has passed and the prototype still has not flown. They likely just presented an empty shell to the public to satisfy some deadline they would never have been able to meet in the first place and have been filling the insides into it since. Similar BS that Boeing pulled with the Dreamliner several years ago.

It could be that the DoD kicked their teeth in and demanded they focus on the B-21 Raider to get it flying. Or it could be there was some sort of backroom dealing between the big three. Since Northrop already had the bomber program they sat out of the Air Force fighter program.
 
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anzha

Senior Member
Registered Member
I'd bet this is an 80% chance Lockheed will get the manned portion of the NGAD contract. NG was probably the one company who could have contested the procurement with Lockmart. IMAAO, Boeing's current project management and engineering systems are such a shbtshow there's almost no way they will get the contract: Stingray, Starliner, SLS, their 7*7 line, T-7, etc. have been disasters. They will probably still get a prototype contract if there is a fly-off.

It will be interesting to see if NorthGrum drops from the FA-XX as well. Their announcement appears to be USAF related only. Interestingly, there is a big bucket of money in the USN budget for prototyping around since 2005 called Link Plumeria. it has been suggested the FA-XX/USN NGAD has been prototyping for a while under that budget line item: its a cover for many SAP from what I understand. My personal opinion is there has probably been some done FA-XX work done there, but this is likely to have been a catchall for some time and the airdales (USN fighter jocks) have only recently, if at all, been hiding within it. After all, the analysis of alternatives was done far, far behind the USAF's NGAD: years behind.
 
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