By Stephen Losey

Dec 24

作者：斯蒂芬·洛西

2023年12月24日

 

(Panuwat Sikham/Getty Images)

（PanuwatSikham/盖蒂图片）

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force plans to take its most significant step yet in creating a futuristic fighter aircraft when it awards a contract in 2024 for the Next Generation Air Dominance platform.

华盛顿——美国空军计划在2024年授予下一代空中优势平台合同，在制造未来战斗机方面迈出迄今为止最重要的一步。

 

The service sent a classified solicitation to industry for NGAD’s engineering and manufacturing development contract in May, officially kicking off the process to select the company that will build its next advanced fighter system.

该服务于5月向业界发送了一份关于NGAD工程和制造开发合同的分类招标，正式启动了选择将建造下一个先进战斗机系统的公司的程序。

 

NGAD will be a sixth-generation aircraft that would replace the F-22 Raptor, and the service wants to have it in production by the end of the decade.

NGAD将是取代F-22猛禽的第六代飞机，该服务希望在本世纪末投入生产。

 

The Air Force wants NGAD to be a so-called “family of systems” that has a crewed aircraft component and other elements, including drone wingmen — also known as collaborative combat aircraft — increased sensor capabilities, and advanced abilities to connect with satellites, other aircraft and more.

美国空军希望NGAD成为一个所谓的“系统家族”，拥有飞机载人组件和其他元素，包括无人机僚机——也被称为协作战斗机——增强了传感器能力，以及与卫星、其他飞机等连接的先进能力。

 

The Air Force said in May that NGAD will use open-architecture standards to take advantage of competition throughout its life cycle while cutting down on maintenance and sustainment costs. But the Air Force has been mum on many of the highly classified program’s other technical details, citing security reasons.

美国空军5月表示，NGAD将使用开放式架构标准，在其整个生命周期内利用竞争优势，同时降低维护和维持成本。但空军以安全为由，对该高度机密项目的许多其他技术细节保持沉默。

 

With Northrop Grumman’s decision in 2023 to bow out of the competition for the NGAD contract, the future will likely hold a head-to-head match between Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

随着诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司在2023年决定退出NGAD合同的竞争，未来洛克希德·马丁公司和波音公司可能会展开正面交锋。

 

Northrop announced in July it does not plan to bid on the Air Force’s version of NGAD as a prime contractor. However, Northrop CEO Kathy Warden said in that month’s earnings call that the company may still bid on the Navy’s separate version of NGAD, dubbed F/A-XX.

诺斯罗普公司7月宣布，它不打算作为主承包商竞标空军版本的NGAD。然而，诺斯罗普公司首席执行官凯西·沃登在当月的电话财报会议上表示，该公司仍可能竞争海军单独版本的NGAD，称为F/A-XX。

 

The Air Force also plans in 2024 to dramatically increase spending on the propulsion system that will one day power NGAD. This system, dubbed Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion, or NGAP, will incorporate multiple design elements from Pentagon-funded research into an adaptive engine that at one point was considered for the F-35 jet.

空军还计划在2024年大幅增加推进系统的支出，该系统有朝一日将为NGAD提供动力。该系统被称为下一代自适应推进系统（NGAP），将把五角大楼资助的研究中的多个设计元素纳入一种自适应发动机中，该发动机一度被认为是F-35喷气式飞机的发动机。

 

Those elements could include the use of composite materials that can withstand high temperatures for turbines and other components, as well as an adaptive element that would allow the engine to rapidly shift to the configuration providing the best thrust and efficiency for any given situation.

这些元件可以包括使用能够承受涡轮机和其他部件的高温的复合材料，以及允许发动机快速转换到在任何给定情况下提供最佳推力和效率的配置的自适应元件。

 

The Air Force requested $595 million for NGAP in its fiscal 2024 budget, a $375 million increase over the previous year’s funding.

空军在2024财年预算中为NGAP申请了5.95亿美元，比前一年的资金增加了3.75亿美元。

 

About Stephen Losey

关于斯蒂芬·洛西

 

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

斯蒂芬·洛西是《防务新闻》的空战记者。此前，他曾在《空军时报》、五角大楼、军事网报道领导和人事问题、特种作战和空战。他曾前往中东报道美国空军的行动。