That is a good point. Though you think they would just stick with Northrop in that case no? They already have the RQ-180, so why go with a totally different vendor?
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That is a good point. Though you think they would just stick with Northrop in that case no? They already have the RQ-180, so why go with a totally different vendor?
The RQ-180 development contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman by the USAF after beating Boeing and Lockheed Martin in a competition for a RQ-170-successor - The usual, I suppose.
Hence, it's not really surprising if Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract for the RQ-180-successor (let's just give it the notional designation RQ-190 for the sake of ease of typing) through largely similar methods of competition between the 3 US defense aerospace corporations.
The RQ-180 development contract was awarded all the way back in 2008, with deliveries of low-rate initial production units started in 2013. That's around a decade ago. Capabilities and objectives can change a lot since then.
IMHO, other than LockMart's proposal being able to met all of the new requirements set out by the USAF (again, the usual) - Recall one of the RQ-170s which was lost to Iran (Iran brought it down through cyberwarfare), which occurred during RQ-180's development period. Adding on, the US is also facing mounting pressure (and thus, need) with the recent rise of China's military prowess.
Hence, it isn't really surprising for the USAF to demand a much, much better upgrade with the RQ-190 when compared to its predecessor.
I would be really interested to see a flying wing design from Lockheed. Given what little we know about the RQ-180, it was already likely the most complex unmanned UAV built to this point. If Lockheed has a flying wing the greatly surpasses it, that would be very impressive!
USAF proposed plans to retire all of its spy planes have taken a major step forward with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's signing of a critical waiver to make the controversial move a reality
More ARRW in the future? Or maybe have another defence prime take a swing at it?
Interesting image of the USS Pickney after the EW upgrades. Kind of highlights how the base design is starting to show its age
lol, "show it's age"
You probably haven't noticed but it's usual place for SEWIP sponsons on this class. One can say that the design "is showing its age" when they won't be able to install enough power generators inside in the future. For now it only shows that the SEWIP suite is now enclosed and that's more or less it looked like from the projects. If it shows anything then it would the fact that those destroyers are still marvelous platforms after almost 40 years.