Washington [US], May 20: The US Air Force has launched a multi-billion dollar bid to replace the F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
According to Bloomberg, the US Air Force has planned to open a tender with the potential to spend billions of dollars to replace the F-22 Raptor fighter jet. This tender could attract US aerospace giants such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.
The US Air Force on May 18 issued a tender offer for the full development phase of the next generation air superiority manned combat aircraft (NGAD). The new planes will be used in conjunction with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) being developed under a different program. The US Air Force plans to award the development contract to the contractor in 2024, and the new fighter will enter service in the 2030s.
"This tender formally begins the sourcing process, providing industry with the requirements the Air Force has come to expect for the NGAD, the F-22 replacement aircraft," the Air Force said in a statement . . According to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, NGAD is a technological leap over the F-22.
In the 2024 budget, the Air Force is also asking Congress to retire 32 older F-22s that are no longer combat capable and transfer the money needed to maintain them into the new fighter jet program.
Currently very little information about the NGAD program has been published. The Air Force is said to plan to spend $16 billion on research and development on the NGAD through 2028. Like the F-22, the new model is intended to become an air-to-air fighter.
Secretary Kendall said the Air Force had postponed some F-35 purchases to speed up the development of the NGAD. Mr. Kendall also said the NGAD planes would cost "several hundred million dollars" each. Meanwhile, the F-22s cost an average of $191.6 million.
Lockheed Martin's F-22 has had a difficult development. The F-22 made its debut on the battlefield in February 2015, more than nine years after it was deemed combat-ready. In April 2009, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates cut production of the F-22 to 187 aircraft instead of 243 because of doubts about its cost and suitability.
Despite the F-22's stealth capabilities and supersonic cruise speed, the aircraft was developed before the US military was betting all the time on UAVs to expand its power. Air-to-air capability is also a top priority in the context of the US growing with potential rivals China and Russia.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
