The Air Force is reopening the competition for its Next-Generation Ejection Seat program, giving vendors the chance to offer their solutions for a new seat for the F-16 while sticking with its choice for the F-15.
The service announced the decision Dec. 20, four months after it first cracked the door with a “sources sought synopsis.” Now officials say they will continue work with Collins Aerospace on its new seat for the F-15 while seeking other options for the F-16. Those options could carry over to the F-22 and B-1.
In October 2019 the Air Force announced its intent to award a sole-source contract to Collins for its new ACES 5 ejection seat, declaring it was the “only company able to meet the Government’s minimum requirements for the NGES program.”
In 2020, USAF and Collins agreed to a $700 million deal covering the F-15 fleet, planning at the time to also put the ACES 5 the all Air Force fighters—except the F-35—as well as on the B-1.
But now, with “new data, updated market research, and evolving operational demands, the Air Force will issue a revised acquisition strategy for the F-16 and F-22,” the service said in its release. The F-16 will be first.
“The decision to re-open the competition underscores our commitment to continually assess our strategies to ensure we meet warfighter needs and timelines,” said Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics Andrew Hunter in the statement. “By reassessing market conditions and fostering competition, we ensure industry delivers the best possible solutions for both current and future Air Force requirements.”
The main competitor for Collins is Martin-Baker, the only other manufacturer of ejection seats for Air Force planes. Its seats are on the F-35, the T-6, the T-38, and the A-29—and most prominently, its newest seat, the US18E, is being installed on new Block 70 F-16 fighters built by Lockheed Martin for foreign partners. As part of that process, the seat was qualified in coordination with the F-16 program office and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.
A company official confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine that Martin-Baker will pursue the new F-16 opportunity on NGES, offering the US18E.
Collins, meanwhile, has a long history on Air Force programs. Its ACES II ejection seat flies on the F-15, F-16, F-22, and B-1, and the ACES 5 was tapped for the new T-7 Red Hawk trainer.
ACES II was first developed in the 1970s. Kevin Coyne, a member of the SAFE Association, an organization focused on safety and life support systems, previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine that while upgrades and modifications have been incorporated since then, new technology has developed that can reduce injuries and help pilots and aircrew survive the hazards of being hurled from their aircraft in flight—events that can cause all sorts of traumatic injuries. Coyne also said maintenance on ACES II seats can be difficult, requiring the removal of the aircraft canopy and extra equipment.
ACES 5 makes improvements in those areas, Coyne said. If selected, it would replace the ACES II seats.