US Navy already looking beyond carrier-based F-35

[unhappycamper]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-navy-already-looking-beyond-carrier-based-f-35-403511/

US Navy already looking beyond carrier-based F-35
By: Dan Parsons
Washington DC

More than four years before the aircraft is scheduled to enter service, the US Navy already is considering modifying the Lockheed Martin F-35C to perform future missions beyond 2030.

Navy officials announced on 9 September that an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the FA-XX aircraft would begin in calendar year 2015 and will consider modifying both the F-35C and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, as well as building a new aircraft to fulfil the requirement.

In the meantime, the Navy will host a series of technical interchange meetings (TIMs) with contractors “for the purposes of trade space refinement as a precursor” to the AoA.

The process began in 2012 with the release on a request for information (RFI) on aircraft concepts, technologies and capabilities “projected into future combat scenarios in the 2030 timeframe,” when the service foresees initial operating capability (IOC). The Navy’s F-35C is scheduled to reach IOC in 2019, after both the air force and Marine Corps versions have come online.

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http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/the-f--the-u-s-military-s-most-expensive/article_0c4f6e64-1ea5-11e4-aac7-001a4bcf6878.html