Boeing (BA) beat out Lockheed Martin (LMT) and General Atomics to build the MQ-25 Navy refueling drone, potentially worth billions of dollars over the life of the program.
X
Late Thursday, the Navy awarded an initial $805 million for the MQ-25 Stingray aerial-refueling unmanned vehicle, the service's first carrier-based drone.
The Navy drone must refuel everything from Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets to Lockheed F-35s. It also needs to use an aircraft carrier's launch and recovery systems.
The MQ-25 is particularly important for the the F-35C, the Navy's variant of the stealth fighter.
The F-35C's advertised range is 1,200 nautical miles, but it's effective range in a real-world battle has come under question. As rivals like China increase the range of "carrier-killer" missiles, aircraft carriers deploying the F-35Cs would have operate farther away offshore.
But the new Navy drone, which will fly off Nimitz- and new Ford-class aircraft carriers, are expected to double the F-35C's range, improving its ability to lead an attack.
As a stealth fighter, the F-35C must penetrate defended airspace first to knock out anti-aircraft batteries, clearing the way for non-stealth aircraft to follow.
The Pentagon has earmarked $2.16 billion for the MQ-25 program through fiscal 2021, though the contract's total value would be larger.
In 2016, IHS Markit estimated that MQ-25 development, production and support costs could reach $6 billion.
The first four drones are slated for delivery in August 2024.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) was initially seen as the front-runner for the MQ-25 contract, given that its X-47B prototype had been used in Navy technology demonstrations.
But Northrop dropped out of the competition last year after the Navy scaled back the program from its original inception as a strike and surveillance aircraft to a mission limited to aerial refueling.
Boeing shares closed down 1.2% on the stock market today. Northrop dipped 0.1%, and Lockheed edged up 0.2%.
MQ-25 Refuels Boeing Plant
Boeing plans to produce the MQ-25 at its factory in St. Louis, where it needed a defense aviation contract to avoid major job cuts, as Super Hornet production slows.
The Pentagon's next big aviation contract decision on the horizon is the Air Force's T-X trainer.
Boeing brings a clean-sheet design to the competition while Lockheed submitted the T-50A, an upgraded version of the T-50 already in service in South Korea. A decision is expected by the end of the federal government's fiscal year, Sept. 30.
YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
Defense And Aerospace Stocks To Watch
The post Why Boeing's MQ-25 Drone Will Be So Important To Lockheed's F-35 appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BusinessRss/~3/sD6ld4ppSIQ/
No comments:
Post a Comment