PAUL LEWIS & GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Contenders pursue different tracks ahead of release of US Navy's request for proposals
The US Navy will next month take the first step to transition the Multi-role Maritime Aircraft (MMA) programme from a series of trade studies to a developmental effort, with the release of a request for proposals (RFP).
But it is already apparent that contenders Boeing and Lockheed Martin are taking contrasting approaches, tailored primarily to either budget or capability.
"The USN has two options in front of them - one is a money-driven solution and the other answers the requirement," says Jack Zeir, Boeing's MMA programme manager. Boeing is proposing a 737-800-based MMA and a mission system that draws heavily on that of the UK's Nimrod MRA4. It claims an all-new jet-powered platform will allow the USN to support its eight forward bases overseas with 32 aircraft in place of the current 51 Lockheed Martin P-3Cs.
Lockheed Martin is taking a lower-risk, lower-cost approach, which it believes will deliver the USN an already proven marinised and weaponised platform which will save time and money in test and evaluation. Its concept of focused production will draw on service life assessment programme data to decide which parts of the P-3C to build new and which to retain (Flight International, 1-7 April).
Responses to the RFP, based on the two companies' component advanced development I and II studies, are due to be submitted in August, with a final selection later in the year. Full-scale development is due to start early in 2004, but doubts have been expressed over whether the USN's projected $3 billion budget will be enough or whether even that amount will be appropriated, given the demands on funds imposed by the Boeing F/A-18E/F and Lockheed Martin F-35.
Source: Flight International
