On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 17:40:37 -0800, "Tarver Engineering"
wrote:


"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
.. .

Conversely, Northrop was partnered with MacAir who had a good
management record and production reputation for F-4, F-15 and F-18.
Lockheed was linked with Boeing and GD.

Northrop's B-2 managment had shot themselves in the foot comming back from
lunch drunk. That caused a bias against Northrop's managment by the
government.

B-2 was released into production in 1988. It was built, designed, and
managed at Pico Rivera in what was logically named the "B-2 Division".
The ATF/YF-23 program was run from the Aircraft Division in Hawthorne.
Two distinctly different places. ATF fly-off decision came in 1990, so
it doesn't track that several thousand people at Pico Rivera would
have been caught drunk several years before program decision on a
different aircraft built at a different plant by a different division
of the company. We might also note that the B-2 co-production company
was the F-22 partner of Lockheed.

I will agree, however, that Northrop management was not the most
competent. During Spring of '88, the chairman of MacAir came to
Hawthorne and held a "come to Jesus" meeting in which he expressed his
displeasure at Northrop senior management. At that time, the decision
was made to move avionics development to St. Louis.

There was also a critical issue with the pilots liking the displays, as Lt
Col Couch had rejected the B-2's display system on first flight. The pilots
liked the YF-22 displays best.

Fusion of data and presentation was a critical design issue. It
wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if there were customer issues
with the two company proposals. But, that would have been primarily
software driven at the time of contract award.

Additionally, the YF-23 program resisted the DARPA subsidy for using Ada in
critical systems, while Lockheed pledged compliance. Lockmart had also been
more co-operative in delivering a prototype of what the contract asked for,
while Northrop tried to deliver what the government wanted now.

Can't agree with that. In late '80s/early '90s the mandate was Ada.
Northrop had no choice and was certainly compliant. The RFP set
requirements and each competitor interpreted how best to meet them.

So, in the three politically sensitive issues for the selection, the YF-22
held the best hand.

You've mentioned program management, cockpit displays and language for
software. I don't think any of those could be called "politically
sensitive" issues. The major political sensitivity would be production
location and at the time of contract award, which was pre-merger for
both contenders, the apparent production would take place in the LA
area.

Cost overruns by Northrop on B-2 as well as some scandal on parts
ordering on missile guidance systems for the Electronics Division
certainly muddied the political waters and may have cost Northrop some
points.




Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8