Boeing and Lockheed to Vie for Next Generation Fighter Contract
Northrop Grumman, the American multinational aerospace and defense technology concern, has withdrawn from contention as a prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation fighter program. Conversely, the storied aerospace marque has surpassed a milestone along the B-21 Raider’s lengthy and tortuous path toward its first flight. Northrop’s withdrawal from the next-generation fighter competition—as announced by company CEO Kathy Warden during a second-quarter 2023 earnings call—leaves Boeing and Lockheed-Martin as the remaining bidders vying for opportunity to build the fighter aircraft at the heart of the USAF’s Next Generation Air Dominance