The compromise defense policy bill would allow the Air Force to retire older F-15 Eagle fighters and A-10 Warthogs, but would block the retirement of 32 older F-22A Raptors. Lawmakers are requesting more information on the Air Force's plans for incorporating collaborative combat aircraft and creating the Next Generation Air Dominance future fighter platform. The bill also requires the Air Force to maintain a minimum inventory of 1,112 fighters and present a long-term plan for its tactical fighter force. Additionally, the bill addresses the acquisition of fleets of collaborative combat aircraft and the update of the Air Force's tanker fleet.
The House Armed Services Committee chairman's mark of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act slashes nearly a third of the Air Force's request for funding for the Next Generation Air Dominance program, amounting to $550 million. However, the draft NDAA does not appear to put that $550 million directly back into the F-22 program. Instead, the bill notes the $550 million as a "deferment" from the Air Force's $2.326 billion request for NGAD. The full committee will meet to vote on amendments and approve the NDAA on June 21.
The U.S. Air Force has deployed F-22 fighter jets to the Middle East in response to unsafe Russian aircraft activity, according to U.S. Central Command. The deployment comes amid increasingly reckless Russian activity in the region, including regular violations of agreed-upon airspace deconfliction measures.
The US Air Force has released a classified solicitation for an engineering and manufacturing development contract for its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform, which will replace the F-22 Raptor. The NGAD platform will be a "family of systems" that incorporates a crewed aircraft component as well as collaborative combat aircraft. The Air Force plans to award the NGAD contract in 2024 and hopes to start fielding the crewed component by the end of the decade. Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin have expressed interest in pursuing the contract.
