Lockheed wants to turn F-35 into a ‘Ferrari’ with sixth-gen tech

Lockheed Martin’s CEO says he wants the F-35 to deliver 80% of the F-47’s capabilities at half the cost

Lockheed Martin’s CEO, James Taiclet, said he wants to improve the F-35 so it can match 80% of sixth-generation aircraft capabilities. JOHN THYS / AFP via Getty Images Lockheed Martin didn’t win the bid for America’s next-generation fighter, but its CEO still wants to build a jet that’s in almost the same league. At the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, James Taiclet said he has set a new goal for his staff: To soup up the F-35 s…

Lockheed Martin's CEO says he wants the F-35 to deliver 80% of the F-47's capabilities at half the cost

Lockheed Martin's CEO, James Taiclet, said he wants to improve the F-35 so it can match 80% of sixth-generation aircraft capabilities.JOHN THYS / AFP via Getty ImagesJames Taiclet says he has a new idea for Lockheed Martin: Beef up the F-35 with its failed bid for NGAD.Lockheed Martin lost the bid for the NGAD, now called the F-47, to Boeing.Taiclet wants his engineers to integrate tech and ideas from their sixth-gen research into the F-35.Lockh…

Lockheed wants to turn F-35 into a ‘Ferrari’ with sixth-gen tech

Better passive infrared, stealth and longer-range weapons are among the sixth-generation technologies Lockheed might incorporate into the F-35.

Lockheed Will Leverage NGAD Investment For F-35+ To Approach 6th Gen Aircraft At Half Cost - Defense Daily

Despite losing out on a potential new franchise aircraft program, Lockheed Martin [LMT] will leverage its investments in the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform for upgrades of its […]

Lockheed Wants To Turn F-35 Into A ‘Ferrari’ With Sixth-gen Tech

Lockheed Martin plans to fold technologies it developed in its unsuccessful bid for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance platform into the F-35 and F-22 Raptor to create a “supercharged” fifth-generation fighter, company executives said. Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet told investors in a Tuesday earnings call the company is not going to challenge the Air Force’s March 21 decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing. Instead, he said, the com…

Giving F-35 "NASCAR Upgrade" Can Deliver 80% Of F-47 Capabilities At Half Cost: Lockheed

Lockheed Martin is making the pitch that its deep-in-production F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can provide 80% of the capabilities of the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter at half the cost. This is a huge claim and one aimed at keeping the F-35 relevant for decades to come and potentially providing an alternative to the F-47. Achieving this would come by taking tech developed under the NGAD fighter program, which Lockheed lost to Boeing, and…