The U.S. intends to create a new fighter aircraft to intercept cruise missiles from North Korea or Iran. According to the American agency Bloomberg, the Pentagon plans to allocate about $18 billion for the development of the prospective aircraft.
Two leading military-industrial companies, Northrop Grumman Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp, will compete for the lucrative contract, with $13.1 billion in development. The winner is expected to be determined by 2026.
Then the construction of the interceptors will begin. According to the announced information, the Pentagon plans to create 31 fighter jets, 10 of which will be used for testing.
The U.S. missile defense agency reports that the next-generation aircraft should be ready by 2028. The new interceptor are planned to be deployed in Alaska and used to intercept cruise missiles from Iran or North Korea. It is expected that the production phase of new interceptor fighters will cost $2.3 billion.
The same amount will be allocated for long-term additional expenses. According to preliminary calculations, the cost of one such aircraft can reach a colossal sum of 500 million dollars.