The US Federal Court of Federal Claims has backed the 1991 DOD decision to cancel the Navy’s A-12 fighter program, reports Renae Merle of the Washington Post. However, this isn’t necessarily the end of this 16-year controversy, much of which played out in various courts as General Dynamics and Boeing and the Navy have tried to recoup billions of dollars. The companies vow to try another court. (Read Air Force Magazine’s April 1991 article “How the A-12 Went Down,” for background.)
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.