Lockheed Martin is prepared to deliver its offering for the Air Force trainer jet competition two years ahead of the service’s plan, a Lockheed executive vice president said on Tuesday.
Rob Weiss, the executive vice president and general manager of aeronautics advanced development programs, said Lockheed Martin could start delivering T-50As to the Air Force by 2022, ahead of the 2024 initial operating capability requested by the military for the T-X competition.
“If there’s a desire for an earlier IOC, we will be ready,” Weiss said during a briefing at the company’s annual media day.
Lockheed is partnering with Korea Aerospace Industries on the T-50A, a modified version of the T-50, for the bidding process. Proposals are due to the Air Force on March 30.
The Air Force is planning to buy 350 two-seat jet trainers to replace the T-38 Talon.
Weiss also said the off-the-shelf T-50A could be flying six years ahead of other firms’ proposals designed specifically to compete for the T-X contract, which he said could be delayed until 2028 or later because of additional hurdles that clean-sheet designs need to overcome.
At least two other T-X offerings will be competing for the $16.3 billion contract. Boeing is partnering with Saab on a clean-sheet design and Italy’s Leonardo announced that it will submit a modified version of its M-346 after pulling out of its partnership with Raytheon this year.
Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, who had been discussing entering the competition as a team, also announced this year they were dropping out.
