Lockheed Martin CEO Says He Needs F-35 to Hit 80% of F-47 Capabilities

Lockheed Martin did not win the bid for America’s next-generation fighter, however its CEO nonetheless needs to construct a jet that is in nearly the identical league.

On the firm’s first-quarter earnings name on Tuesday, James Taiclet mentioned he has set a brand new objective for his employees: To soup up the F-35 so it might probably match 80% of the F-47’s capabilities for half the fee.

“My problem to my aeronautics crew is, let’s get 80% of sixth-gen functionality at half the worth,” Taiclet mentioned.

“And that is one thing that — and these are engineers, they would not have agreed to this in the event that they did not assume there was a path to get there — that is one thing we will exit and do,” he added.

Taiclet known as this “fifth-generation plus.” Lockheed’s plan to get there, he mentioned, would leverage its expertise from years of working to win the bid for the next-generation fighter.

The agency in the end misplaced the bid for the sixth-generation stealth fighter to Boeing, which President Donald Trump introduced in late March as the chosen producer. That call rocked Lockheed’s fame within the stealth fighter recreation, which it had dominated with the Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning II.

At Tuesday’s earnings name, Taiclet mentioned Lockheed needs to maneuver on from shedding the award.

“We’re not going to protest the NGAD choice of the US authorities,” he mentioned, referring to Subsequent-Era Air Dominance, which is the US program to create the sixth-generation successor to the F-22. “We’re shifting ahead and shifting out on making use of all of the applied sciences that we developed for our NGAD bid onto our embedded base of F-35 and F-22.”

“It is a little bit type of — not uncomfortable — however novel for our trade to assume that means,” Taiclet added. “However we’re considering that means.”

He in contrast his ambition to beefing up a highway car a lot that it turns into a race automobile.

“So, the F-35. So we’re mainly going to take the chassis and switch it right into a Ferrari. It is like a NASCAR improve, so to talk,” he mentioned.

Taiclet mentioned Lockheed had labored on creating higher sensors and stealth strategies for its sixth-gen bid, and will apply these applied sciences to enhance the F-35. He additionally talked about a more moderen monitoring system and longer-range weapons.

He instructed analysts that the concept is for superior plane to keep away from dogfights if they will. “We need to shoot the opposite man, as I mentioned, earlier than he even is aware of we’re there,” he mentioned.

Boeing’s F-47 is supposed to be America’s most superior stealth fighter but, with plans for the plane to fly in tandem with semiautonomous “wingmen” drones. With air superiority as its precedence, one of many next-generation fighter’s main roles is to destroy enemy plane.

In the meantime, the F-35, a multi-role fighter that entered service in 2015, is Lockheed’s headline export. Taiclet mentioned the corporate expects to ship between 170 and 190 F-35s in 2025, with a backlog of about 360 extra plane.

Lockheed reported a web revenue of $1.7 billion for the primary quarter ending on March 30, up from $1.5 billion within the first quarter of 2024. Earnings of $7.28 per share beat Wall Avenue’s expectations of $6.34 per share.

The corporate’s inventory worth climbed 0.82% to $462.08 at market shut on Tuesday.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin didn’t reply to requests for remark despatched outdoors common enterprise hours by Enterprise Insider.