A US Air Force F-22
The U.S. Air Force plans to launch a potentially multibillion-dollar bid to replace its F-22 Raptor fighter jets, a bid that could attract U.S. aerospace giants Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp., Bloomberg reported.
The U.S. Air Force on May 18 issued a Request for Proposals for the full development phase of the next-generation air superiority fighter (NGAD). The new aircraft will be used alongside unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under development in another program. The Air Force plans to award development contracts to contractors in 2024 and the new fighter will enter service in the 2030s.
"This request for proposal formally begins the source selection process, providing industry with the requirements the Air Force expects for 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 forward over the F-22.
In its 2024 budget, the Air Force is also asking Congress to retire 32 older F-22s that are no longer combat-capable and redirect the money needed to maintain them into a new fighter program.
Little is known about the NGAD program. The Air Force reportedly plans to spend $16 billion on NGAD research and development through 2028. Like the F-22, the new aircraft is intended to be an air-to-air fighter.
Chinese stealth fighters could overwhelm US F-22 fighters in numbers
The Air Force has delayed some F-35 purchases to speed up the NGAD development process, Kendall said. The NGAD planes will cost “several hundred million dollars” each, Kendall said. The F-22s, meanwhile, cost an average of $191.6 million.
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 has had a troubled development. It first entered combat in February 2015, more than nine years after it was deemed combat-ready. In April 2009, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates cut F-22 production to just 187 aircraft from 243, citing doubts about its cost and suitability.
Although the F-22 has stealth capabilities and supersonic cruise speed, the aircraft was developed before the US military bet all-in on UAVs to expand its power. Air-to-air capabilities are also a top priority as the US grows increasingly concerned with potential adversaries like China and Russia.
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