Pentagon plans to allocate almost $ 18 billion to the development, production and maintenance of a new fighter to intercept missiles from the DPRK or Iran, the Bloomberg agency reported.
Two companies will take part in the competition – Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. At the stage of development, companies will be sent 13.1 billion dollars, TASS reports. After the “Critical Review of the Project”, the winner of this stage will be determined, which will be completed, probably by 2026. At the end of the development phase, the construction of 31 fighter-interceptor, 10 of which will be used for testing will be used.
The cost of the production phase is estimated at $ 2.3 billion. In addition, another 2.3 billion will be sent for long-term additional expenses. The US missile defense agency said they were planning to demonstrate a fighter-interceptor of a new generation “no later than 2028”.
As the Agency emphasizes, fighters are designed to destroy the winged missiles flying from hostile states, such as the DPRK or Iran. They intend to accommodate in Alaska. The cost of each fighter is estimated at about 498 million dollars.