An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, and an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, prepare to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) to conduct strike missions against ISIL targets, in the Arabian Gulf. (REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert Burck/Handout)
Boeing Faces a Future Without Fighter Jets -- Wall Street Journal
As Orders for F/A-18 Dry Up, Executives Shift Focus to Bombers, Drones and Trainers
Boeing Co. BA +0.94% , which has built military planes for almost a century, is preparing for the prospect of a fighter-less future.
The steadfast commitment of the U.S. and many allies to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program made by Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT +1.16% is drying up funding for Boeing's fighters. Now, the head of Boeing's defense unit is preparing a road map that would concede the fighter market to Lockheed and pin the business's future on other aircraft, including military versions of its commercial jetliners.
"You have to face reality," Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing, Defense, Space & Security, said of the company's shifting focus in an interview in July.
Read more ....
Update: Report: Boeing Plans For Post-Fighter Future -- FOX News
My Comment: It appears that Boeing has made the decision that sequestration and shrinking defense budgets are here to stay, and now is the time to focus on other products.
Unfortunately I can't access that full article. I'll take a guess.
ReplyDeleteSome(I'm thinking writers at War Is Boring) have highlighted that Boeing has been forced out of the market specifically by one manufacturer (lockheed martin and the f-35/22). A jack of all trades for all forces has created a monopoly on aircraft production for the next decades.
This is frightening because the only R&D and the only experience that the US will have for future aircraft will be based on the f-35 project and/or f-22.