Message posted by Vahe Demirjian (Member since 04/28/2022) on June 26, 2023 at 11:56:27 PST:
Since a recent podcast from the Defense & Aerospace Report notes that three NGAD demonstrators have flown but that one of the companies involved in the NGAD competition withdrew, Lockheed Martin might have decided that staying in the NGAD competition would have diverted a bit of financial resources from production of the F-35, so this could partly explain its endorsement of the General Electric XA100 for the F-35. After all, USAF Secretary Donald Rice knew that Northrop was burdened with production of the B-2 and decided that declaring the F-22 the winner of the ATF competition despite the YF-23 being faster and stealthier would save Northrop the trouble of undertaking two expensive stealth warplane programs simultaneously.
Attached link: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/next-generation-air-dominance-fighter-program-involves-three-demonstrators-reportIn Reply to: OT: Lockheed endorses GE's AETP engine for F35...possibly signaling it lost NGAD contract? posted by Ty on June 26, 2023 at 10:24:43 PST:
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