A Boeing NGAD concept, released before the 2024 pause. (Boeing)
Secretary of the US Air Force (USAF) Frank Kendall is delaying the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter selection until after 20 January, according to a 5 December statement by the service.
“The Secretary of the Air Force will defer the Next-Generation Air Dominance way ahead decision to the next administration, while the Department of the Air Force continues its analysis and executes the necessary actions to ensure decision space remains intact for the NGAD programme,” the USAF said.
“The Department of the Air Force is extending the current technology maturation and risk reduction contracts for the Next-Generation Air Dominance programme to further mature designs/systems while ensuring the industry teams remain intact. Additionally, the Air Force is requesting industry partners to update their proposals to account for the delays resulting from the current pause,” the statement continued.
NGAD selection, widely thought to be between duelling bids from Boeing and Lockheed Martin, was paused in mid-2024 over cost concerns and uncertainty about what technology to include on the aircraft. Kendall had previously described NGAD as potentially costing hundreds of millions of dollars, but told reporters in September 2024 that the F-35's roughly USD80 million price tag “represents to me the upper bounds of what we'd like to pay for individual aircraft”.
Both Boeing and Lockheed Martin publicly discussed their designs before the pause, but neither has done so since. Boeing declined to comment on the new development.
“As we did in his first term, we look forward to a strong working relationship with President [Donald] Trump, his team, and also with the new Congress to strengthen our national defence,” Lockheed Martin told Janes on 5 December.
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