EPX is the name for the US Navy acquisition program to replace the Lockheed EP-3E Aries II airborne electronic intelligence fleet.
The navy launched the competitive phase of the programme today by posting the broad agency announcement, which is the formal term for essentially a market survey.
The BAA documents include a list of attendees at a recent "industry day" hosted by the navy to explain the program's acquisition strategy.
The attendee roster offers a good early indication of the potential field of competitors. We already know that Boeing is involved with the 737-based EP-8.
But the roster shows that EADS North America is interested, which means the special mission variant of the Airbus A320 could become a contender. Airbus is already teamed with Northrop Grumman to build a surveillance version of the A320 for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Get ready for another fun competition between Boeing and Airbus.
Also, Embraer North America showed up for the industry day, which is good sign that the E190 regional jet could be offered. Lockheed Martin had partnered with Embraer to offer the ERJ-145 for the aborted army/navy Aerial Common Sensor program.
Piasecki made a surprise appearance at the industry day. I can't think of any obvious role for Piasecki to play in this competition, but maybe some of you might have some ideas.
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