노스롭, NGAD 포기하고 CCA와 F/A-XX에 집중

[위종민]

노스롭이 NGAD에 입찰서 제출은 포기했지만 CCA와 F/A-XX(추진시) 입찰은 고려중이라고 하네요. 

B-21을 생산중이니 NGAD까지 받지는 못할 거란 생각일까요? 록히드 마틴과 보잉 중에 한 곳이 선정되겠네요. 

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/northrop-out-ngad-fighter-cca-f-a-xx

A Northrop Grumman sixth-generation fighter concept in action. Northrop Grumman

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Northrop Won’t Bid on Air Force’s NGAD Fighter, But CCA, F/A-XX Programs Still in Play

July 27, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Northrop Grumman won’t compete to be the prime contractor on the hyper-secret Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter program, but hasn’t ruled out a bid for the Navy’s corresponding F/A-XX or the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs, CEO Kathy Warden said July 27 in a second-quarter results call.

“We have notified the U.S. Air Force that we’re not planning to respond to the NGAD RFP (Request For Proposals) as the prime,” Warden said. She did not rule out being a partner or supplier to other NGAD bidders, however.

Northrop’s portfolio includes combat aircraft like the B-21 bomber; reconnaissance aircraft such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk; electronic warfare systems; radars; sensors and aircraft structures, as well as solid rocket motors and hypersonic engines, among other business lines.

Northrop had withheld comment on NGAD until the Air Force announced “their intent to issue the RFP,” Warden said. The Air Force released the NGAD RFP in May and aims to select a winning contractor in 2024.

It wasn’t clear from Warden’s comments when the company informed the Air Force it won’t bid on NGAD. Media reports have indicated that the NGAD horse race is down to two competitors, and Northrop may already have been knocked out of the competition. But the Air Force has said any qualified offeror is welcome to make a proposal on the program.

Neither Boeing nor Lockheed Martin, the other two largest aerospace contractors, have stated officially an intent to bid on NGAD, but Lockheed officials have talked extensively about what might go into NGAD and its “family of systems,” including uncrewed escort aircraft.

Warden couched Northrop’s decision as part of a strategy: “Remaining disciplined in assessing the right programs to pursue.” Those “right” programs, she said, should offer “an appropriate balance of risk and reward, for both the customer and the industrial base.”

But, Warden added, “we have other opportunities in military aircraft that we are pursuing.” Northrop backed out of the T-X advanced trainer competition in 2017, even after building a flying, full-scale prototype. After reviewing the final RFP, officials said at the time, they did not see the business case for a profitable program.

Northrop has also withdrawn from or opted not to pursue other programs, such as the second KC-X tanker competition; a Navy carrier-capable drone; and the Navy’s 1980s-era A-12 competition.

In most of those cases, the winning bidder wound up absorbing huge losses. Boeing, which ultimately won the tanker and trainer contests, has paid dearly for the privilege, losing more than $7 billion on the fixed-price KC-46 tanker program and now taking losses on the fixed-price T-7 Red Hawk Advanced Trainer, as well. The company has said it will be more careful about the risk of underbidding in the future.

Asked about the F/A-XX—the Navy’s version of NGAD—Warden said Northrop hasn’t decided if it will bid or not. If there are programs where “we’re well-positioned, and the government is appropriately balancing risk and reward … that would be a program we would pursue,” she said, declining to be more specific “until a little more information comes out.”

The Air Force and Navy are comparing notes on their respective next-generation fighters but will not join them together as with the F-35.

While Warden ruled out bidding on NGAD, she held open the possibility of bidding on the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

“It is a separate solicitation,” she said. “We’re looking at it closely.” The CCA program is expected to yield a modular, uncrewed aircraft to carry sensors, extra munitions, perform electronic warfare, or do other missions in collaboration with crewed fighters and bombers.

Warden said Northrop is looking for new business as older programs like the F/A-18 fighter, for which Northrop builds the aft fuselage and vertical tails, wind down. The F/A-18 comprises just 1 percent of Northrop’s sales.

The Air Force is drawing down its RQ-4 fleet, but Northrop is believed to have built a successor, the RQ-180, which is highly stealthy and may have paved the way for the B-21.  Warden referenced a number of classified programs in her presentation. 

Warden said Northrop will continue to consider each opportunity on its own merits. Northrop doesn’t apply a “blanket” policy across the board, she said. “We think about each opportunity in terms of its risk profile,” she said. “The maturity of our designs and offerings at the time that we’re being asked to bid also weighs heavily into our thinking about that decision.”

[Minowski(김유철)]

이미 생산에 들어간 B21+CCA 조합이 태평양 전장에서의 생존성 등 보다 유망하고 이에따라 NGAD는 프로젝트의 미래가 어둡다고 본 걸지도 모르겠습니다. 물론 사업을 몰아주지 않을거라는 정치적 고려도 고민했겠고..

[위종민]

NGAD는 서태평양 전장환경에 맞게 크고 멀리 갈 수 있게=비싸게 만들어야 할 텐데, 딱 봐도 진행이 수월하진 않을 사업이라 일찌감치 포기하는 것 같기도..

[엽군]

보잉은 T-7을 하고 있고, NG는 B-21을 하고 있으니, LM 승리가 거의 확정적이라고 보고 NG가 포기한 것 아닌가 싶습니다. F/A-XX는 느림보 굼벵이 모드던데. 과연... 그런데 전투기로 좁혀놓고 보면, 사실 NGAD에 필요한 핵심 임무장비 상당수가 LM이 잘하는 것도 사실입니다. LM은 심지어 레이더도 잘 만들잖아요. 항공기용이 아니라서 그렇지;

[위종민]

보잉은 거기다 차세대 공중급유기 사업도 아마 가져갈 테고..

[강준구]

예전 같았으면, 이런 나눠먹기식이 맞지 않을까 했을텐데요. LM이 ATF, JSF 다 먹는걸 보면, 그건 또 아닌거 같다.. 싶기도 합니다. NG의 마지막 전투기는 사실상 YF-17 시절이라.. 보잉, 록마와 당장 겨루기는 힘들다고 판단하지 않았을까 합니다.

[마로]

ATF랑 동시기에 무슨 사업들 있었는지 생각해보면 나눠먹기 맞습니다

[마로]

KC-Y는 아무래도 LMXT보다는 KC-46이 유리해보이긴 하는데, KC-Z는 지켜봐야죠

[엽군]

CCA도 보잉이 한 자락 뻗치고 있죠. -.-