WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Navy has selected Boeing to develop its next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter, the F/A-XX, under a contract valued at more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase.
The contract includes multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems and weapons integration testing. Boeing defeated Northrop Grumman for the contract after Lockheed Martin was eliminated during an earlier down-select in March 2025.
The decision gives Boeing both of the U.S. military’s major sixth-generation crewed fighter programs. In March 2025, Boeing won the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) contract to develop the F-47.
F/A-XX to replace Super Hornets and Growlers
The F/A-XX is intended to augment and eventually replace the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s. It will operate alongside the F-35C and work with manned and unmanned platforms, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
The Navy plans to use the aircraft for advanced carrier-based power projection, extended operational reach and operations in contested airspace. Earlier program information also identified advanced stealth, open-architecture systems and a 25% range increase over existing Navy strike fighters. The aircraft is intended to operate as an airborne command node with uncrewed aircraft.
Technical and programmatic details remain classified, and the Navy has not announced a formal designation for the aircraft. Boeing has said the design will advance open mission systems architecture, advanced mission systems, operational reach and capacity.
Program faced a potential freeze
The F/A-XX program faced uncertainty in June 2025, when the Pentagon moved to freeze the effort over concerns that the U.S. defense industrial base lacked sufficient capacity to develop the Navy’s fighter and Air Force F-47 at the same time. Congress intervened to keep the program funded and moving forward.
In April 2026, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said a winner would be announced in August. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao supported that timeline, but August passed without an announcement. Caudle later said he was no longer aware of the decision date.
Two weeks before the award, Air Force Gen. Dale White again raised industrial-capacity concerns about producing F/A-XX alongside F-47.
Caudle had also said in January 2026 that existing aircraft, including the F/A-18, would not provide the capabilities required against potential adversaries including China, Russia and Iran, among others.
Officials and Boeing respond
Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, called F/A-XX a “crucial, non-negotiable investment” in U.S. national security and said it would extend operational reach and provide capabilities for contested airspace.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao described the sixth-generation fighter as a “generational leap in air superiority.”
Boeing Defense, Space & Security President and CEO Steve Parker said Boeing had planned to develop and deliver two advanced fighters in parallel and had invested accordingly.
Boeing is expanding its production facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, with nearly $2 billion in planned investment to support its future fighter programs. The company has described the facility as the largest fighter manufacturing facility in the United States and is also investing in digital manufacturing, technology and personnel.
Super Hornet production shutdown
On the same day, the Navy awarded Boeing a separate $16,667,607 contract to support the final shutdown of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler production lines.
Northrop Grumman said it had offered a highly survivable, digitally advanced sixth-generation fighter and looked forward to receiving additional information about the selection.
The F/A-XX will form a major part of the Navy’s future carrier air wing, alongside the F-35C and increased use of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. A first-flight date has not been officially announced.
——— End of Article ———
