F-16.net

disconnectedradical wrote:An AvWeek article from a few weeks ago that is currently free to read. The parts that I think are interesting:

U.S. Navy Carves Independent Path For Future Fighter Design
8 November 2024

In the past decade, however, propulsion plans for the Air Force and Navy have diverged, Donnelly says. The Air Force continues to develop Next-​Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP), the only one of five new technologies confirmed to be funded by the NGAD program. But the industry proposals submitted for the F/A-XX contract are based on older engines that lack the variable bypass flow of adaptive engines.

“We’re looking at more of a derivative-type engine solution,” Donnelly says. “That’s just one example where we probably are different in many ways from the Air Force. In totality, they are two unique programs from an acquisition point of view and also going forward, so we’re relatively independent of each other at this point.”

Full article: https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircra ... ter-design

In terms of penetrating platforms for future carrier air wings, the Navy is pushing ahead with plans for a new sixth-generation crewed stealth combat jet, referred to currently as F/A-XX. The service said last October that it was getting close to picking a winning F/A-XX design and the hope is that the first examples will begin entering service in the 2030s.

F/A-XX is set to replace the F/A-18E/F and the EA-18G, but both of those existing aircraft are currently expected to continue serving into the 2040s. F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, E-2 Hawkeyes, CMV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors, and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters are also set to remain parts of the Navy’s carrier air wings for years to come.

quicksilver wrote:Grumman Ironworks

madrat wrote:The only way to keep CVNs relevant is to increase aircraft size imho. May as well target 50k-60k pounds.

Lockheed out of Navy’s F/A-XX future fighter program
A source with knowledge of the program told Breaking Defense that Lockheed submitted a bid for the next-gen fighter effort, but the proposal did not satisfy the Navy’s criteria, leaving Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the remaining competitors.

AFA WARFARE 2025 — Lockheed Martin is out of the running for the Navy’s sixth-generation fighter jet program, known as Next Generation Air Dominance or F/A-XX, Breaking Defense has learned.

A source with knowledge of the program told Breaking Defense that Lockheed submitted a bid to the Navy, but the proposal did not satisfy the service’s criteria. The company is now no longer proceeding with the bid. The Navy previously told Breaking Defense in November that the service was evaluating proposals, but it is unclear when Lockheed was knocked out of the competition.

The outcome leaves a horse race between Northrop Grumman and Boeing to replace the venerable F/A-18 and E/A-18 with a new air superiority fighter. At stake for Northrop is its first fighter contract since the F-14 Tomcat, famed for its appearance in the original Top Gun movie; at stake for Boeing is the future of its fighter arm, which has seen a massive investment in its St. Louis facility on a gamble that the company will win a sixth-gen contract from the US military.

Lockheed referred a request for comment to the Navy. The Navy did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

Lockheed, which cornered the market on fifth-generation fighters through its ubiquitous F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor, still has a shot to build a sixth-generation jet through the Air Force’s separate fighter competition, also known as Next Generation Air Dominance, where the company is facing off against Boeing.

[...]

Navy officials have publicly remained committed to awarding an F/A-XX contract this year, a contrast with the Air Force, which put its NGAD program on hold last year as it assessed the program. The Air Force conducted an internal analysis last year, which supported the development and fielding of a manned sixth generation fighter, but officials punted a decision on whether to continue the program to the Trump administration.

[...]

Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2025/03/exc ... r-program/