“We think we can get most of the way to sixth-gen at half the cost,” Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Caiclet said.
Can the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II—commonly regarded as two of the greatest planes in the world—become even more powerful? The CEO of Lockheed Martin, the famed aerospace giant that built both planes, thinks so.
The defense and aerospace giant and manufacturer of the U.S. military’s two stealth fighter jets intends to buff the aircraft with cutting-edge technology initially intended for the F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter jet.
“Beast Mode” for the F-22 and F-35
On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet told company investors that the defense and aerospace giant intends to transfer technology that it developed in its unsuccessful bid for the F-47 fighter into the existing F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
“There are techniques and capabilities that were developed for [the F-47 bid] that we can now apply here,” Taiclet said.
The Lockheed Martin CEO said that their intention is to take the F-35 chassis “and turn it into a Ferrari.”
In March, President Trump announced the winner of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the U.S. military’s first sixth-generation fighter jet. Lockheed Martin, which had already designed and built the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, was widely expected to win the contract. However, the contract was instead awarded to Boeing, surprising many defense analysts.
Lockheed Martin is already incorporating new technologies into the operational F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fleets. For example, both stealth fighter jets are getting updates in order to work with unmanned aerial systems as part of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) project.
About the F-35 Lightning II
The F-35 Lightning II is a multirole aircraft commonly regarded as the most advanced fighter jet in the world. The aircraft comes in three variants (A, B, C) with similar capabilities. Lockheed Martin is currently working on building over 3,500 aircraft.
The Air Force has already been working on separate upgrades on the F-22 Raptor to ensure that the stealth fighter jet, which debuted in 2005 and whose production line has since been shut down, can remain competitive against near-peer adversaries until the F-47 arrives in force.
The F-47 is set to replace the F-22 Raptor and assume the difficult but important air dominance mission set.
The Lockheed Martin CEO also said that he would like to make the updates available to all F-35 customers. In addition to the United States, 19 other countries have bought or committed to buying the stealth fighter jet.
“Eventually, there’ll be 3,500 of those chassis out there at various stages of technology and capability,” Taiclet said. “We think we can get most of the way to sixth-gen at half the cost.”
“Our goal is to make as much of this capability that we can” exportable to allies, Taiclet said. “We try to design in a way that’s hopefully an easier decision for exportability than a harder one.”
Of course, depending on the classified technology that goes into the F-35 upgrades, Congress might block the additional packages from getting exported.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
