2 Contracts Let in Secret Project for New Navy Jet

The Navy has issued contracts to two teams of aerospace firms under a secret program to develop a new attack jet, which could provide as much as $35-billion worth of business to the winners, according to interviews with knowledgeable defense industry executives.

Under the Navy project, Northrop Corp. and Grumman Corp. are teamed against McDonnell Douglas Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. to produce design concepts for the new jet, known as the advanced tactical aircraft, or ATA, the sources said.

Although the Navy acknowledges the existence of the project, it has deeply classified the program and refused to discuss the identity of firms under contract or the amount of the funding.

To Speed Up Project

But, in recent interviews, Navy officials disclosed for the first time that they are preparing to accelerate the program and put it into “full-scale development” status as early as next year.

If they do push the program into full-scale status, it would mean that the ATA schedule is far more advanced than has been commonly thought within the aerospace industry and by financial analysts of the industry.

“We will be arranging for full-scale engineering development, soliciting proposals and selecting the tentative winner or winners this coming calender year,” Rear Adm. Stuart Platt, the officer in charge of ensuring that Navy contracts are awarded competitively, said.

“If all goes well, the contractors should be selected and at work developing plans and cutting metal by next summer,” Platt added.

Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. said earlier this year that the Navy plans to buy 450 of the advanced tactical aircraft by the mid-1990s to replace the A-6 attack jets on Navy aircraft carriers.

Lehman did not announce how much the Navy plans to spend on the deployment, but Navy officials have told Congress in testimony that the program will roughly approximate the Navy’s F/A-18 program.

The F/A-18, a Navy fighter and attack jet, is costing roughly $35 billion in current dollars, including the costs of development and production.

Plane Highly Classified

At $35 billion, the advanced tactical aircraft would be among the largest and most significant aircraft programs undertaken by the Pentagon during the Reagan Administration. And yet, the aircraft has received virtually no national attention, owing to its deep security classification.

The Navy has assigned the project a “special access” security code, severely limiting knowledge of the program. It is believed that only a dozen members of Congress have been briefed on the ATA.

Although the ATA has advanced quite far already, it faces serious hurdles in Congress, where some experts believe that the Navy has seriously overextended its aviation programs. The advanced tactical aircraft would be the Navy’s third current attack aircraft, joining the F/A-18 and the A-6.

Old Combat Aircraft

One congressional staff member said the Navy now has 12 types of combat aircraft in production, virtually all of which are being manufacturered at uneconomically low rates of a dozen or fewer a year. A committee staff member involved with defense matters said: “The average age of the Navy’s combat aircraft is 13 years.”

He added: “The Navy has more programs than it can afford. You have to ask, even if you accept the need for ATA, can the Navy afford it?”

As an attack jet, the advanced tactical aircraft would be designed to fly low-level bombing missions. Such attack aircraft are different from heavy bombers in that they carry smaller payloads and operate over much shorter distances. Little is known about the ATA design, but the plane almost certainly would have “stealth” characteristics that would make it difficult to detect by radar or infrared sensors.

The Navy’s ATA is not to be confused with the Air Force’s new advanced tactical fighter, or ATF. The programs are different, but eventually the two services may buy some of each other’s airplanes, according to Navy and Air Force officials.

Contractors Won’t Comment

The four contractors on the program all refused to comment on their participation, but none of the four specifically denied being involved.

“That is a classified program and I know nothing about it and, frankly, I don’t want to know anything about it,” said Peter Connolly, General Dynamics’ chief spokesman.

If Northrop succeeds in winning a role in the ATA program, it would mean a substantial new source of employment in Los Angeles County, where the company builds all of its manned aircraft. McDonnell Douglas’ production facilities are in St. Louis, General Dynamics’ in Fort Worth, Tex., and Grumman’s on Long Island, N.Y.

Some defense industry executives have speculated about a possible Lockheed role in the ATA program, as well.

“Lockheed is not actively involved in the ATA program at this time but is maintaining a strong interest and may be a participant in the program in the future,” said Richard Heppe, president of Lockheed California Co., the combat aircraft unit of Lockheed, which is based in Calabasas.

Some Firms Weeded Out

Platt said that initially seven aerospace firms were involved in bidding on the program but that there has already been a winnowing-out process.

“It has been the Navy’s plan to set the stage for competition in this program from day one,” Platt said. “By producing a reasonable quantity of airplanes, we can get a reasonable price.”

Platt said the Navy is currently putting into final form the criteria it will use to select the winners in the ATA competition.