If all goes as planned, USAF will award the CSAR-X contract in early September, according to Daniel Spoor, Lockheed Martin’s CSAR-X program vice president. Speaking at a media event at Lockheed’s Center for Innovation in Suffolk, Va., on May 31, Spoor told reporters that Lockheed plans to submit its US101 aircraft proposal to the Air Force on June 19 and expects to receive a revision at the end of July. USAF’s schedule calls for the source selection process to conclude in August. The contract award process slowed earlier this year when USAF revised its guidelines, opting to ask for more capability earlier.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.