As the air war in Europe progressed, the Army was discovering that what it really needed was a long-range fighter capable of escorting bombers into Germany. Alexander Kartveli was called to the Army's Experimental Aircraft division and told of the new requirements, and that the P-44 would not be ordered in its current configuration. This was a devastating setback for Kartveli and Republic Aircraft because Kartveli knew the XP-44 could not be redesigned to meet these new requirements. On the train back to New York City, he began sketching a new design. This aircraft would become the P-47 Thunderbolt.