Lockheed Martin claims that its multi-role fighter, the F-35, after an upgrade, could deliver 80% of the capabilities of the next-generation F-47 fighter at half the cost. This bold statement aims to ensure the F-35 remains relevant for decades to come and offers an alternative to the F-47.
The upgrade would be achieved by incorporating technologies developed under the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program into the F-35. As Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet stated, the “NASCAR upgrade” involves significant changes, including the use of new chassis, materials, geometry, and countermeasures developed as part of the NGAD program. However, Lockheed has no plans to officially contest Boeing’s victory in the NGAD aircraft competition.
“We plan to apply these [NGAD] technologies to our current systems, making our already proven products even more relevant for the future, while also expanding the capabilities we provide in both current and future developments,” said Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet. “For example, the knowledge and development of technologies gained through our investments in the NGAD competition have strengthened our belief in the need to upgrade the F-35 to a ‘5th gen plus’ level. I have tasked my team with delivering 80% of the capabilities of the 6th generation at 50% of the cost.”
As part of this vision, the company plans to implement innovations based on recently developed internal capabilities and the autonomy of AI, crew teamwork, and command and control systems across the entire company. The company will refocus its research and development efforts on the F-35 and F-22 to enhance their capabilities and, likely, to use them if the F-47 is not brought into production.
“I believe that we can achieve 80% of the potential at 50% of the aircraft’s unit cost by building on the F-35 and applying numerous advanced technologies, some of which are already used in Block 4, and others that we can implement and quickly offer to the Ministry of Defense to truly take this airframe and improve it for the future,” says the defense contractor. “This is essentially the ‘5th gen+’ concept for the F-35.”
For Lockheed, it would be unwise to challenge the decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing, especially since the company has many other products for sale to the U.S. federal government. These include various aspects of the NGAD program, ranging from unmanned systems to weapons and command-and-control architectures.
The U.S. Air Force has already been offered a much cheaper alternative to the current F-47. A heavily modified F-35 could serve as that alternative. Lockheed is already leveraging efforts to upgrade the F-22, which currently involves significant modifications to the aircraft, to support work related to NGAD.
“Our company has 70,000 engineers and scientists working on exciting projects. Some of the 5th gen+ solutions are already funded by the U.S. government and the F-35 program itself. There are components, some of which are classified, so I cannot mention them,” emphasized Jim Taiclet. “However, the key technologies and approaches that a fighter pilot must have to remain competitive, I will outline in general terms, and you can be sure that we, along with the government, are investing in these areas.”
These technologies include a radar with a passive infrared sensor, stealth technologies, and tracking and weapon systems. Overall, the world’s largest defense contractor has doubled its spending on the F-35, which, in the near future, could look very different from today, at least in concept.
Source: twz
