The
US Navy has launched mid-April an official RFI for the F/A-XX carrier-based
strike fighter. The F/A-XX is intended to replace both F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet fighter and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft currently
in service in the US Navy by the years 2030ies.
The official RFI for the sixth generation fighter, issued by the Department
of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division, goes as follow:
The Director for Air Warfare (OPNAV N98) has requested NAVAIR Warfare
Analysis and Integration Department (AIR-4.10) to conduct trade space
refinement as a precursor to an analysis of alternatives for candidate
strike fighter aircraft replacements for the FA-18E/F and EA-18G. |
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CAPABILITY
DESCRIPTION:
The intent of this research is to solicit Industry inputs on
candidate solutions for CVN based aircraft to provide multi-role capability
in an A2AD operational environment. Primary missions include, but are
notlimited to, air warfare (AW), strike warfare (STW), surface warfare
(SUW), and close air support (CAS). Also consider the ability of your
concept to provide other capabilities currently provided by strike fighteraircraft,
such as organic air-to-air refueling (AAR), Tactical Reconnaissance,
Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA), and airborne electronic
attack (AEA). The trade space refinement activity will characterize
a broad trade space, to include unmanned, optionally manned and manned
aircraft. System attributes and system capabilities will be considered
in the context of cost and affordability. Concepts that are derived
from legacy aircraft, “clean sheet” new design aircraft,
as well as innovative technology concepts specifically tailored for
the operational context are all relevant. Please provide a separate
whitepaper for each technology concept or family of related and complementary
technology concepts; multiple white papers may be provided. |
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As a top
level summary of some of the required system capabilities, the air vehicle
should be capable of addressing the following needs:
1.Capable of operating from CVN 68 and CVN 78 class aircraft carriers,
as part of the Carrier AirWing (CVW), with minimal impact on the ship
configuration and the operations of the rest of theCVW.
2.This aircraft will be a complementary CVW asset to the F-35C and an
unmanned persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)
vehicle with precision strike capability.
3.The ability to conduct persistent, penetrating operations in an A2AD
operational environment.
4.The ability for an IOC in the 2030 timeframe. If a spiral approach
to incorporation of systems and/or technology to achieve full operational
capability is employed, provide the timeline toachieve full capability. |
