Pentagon Awards Boeing $20 Billion F/A-XX Navy Fighter Contract

The Pentagon announced on September 29 that Boeing has been selected to build the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX, a next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter, in a contract valued at roughly $20 billion, officials said.¹⁶⁸

A second sixth-generation win

Boeing prevailed over Northrop Grumman to secure the F/A-XX award, coming months after Lockheed Martin was dropped from the contest in March 2025 for failing to meet the program's design standards. The award marks Boeing's second selection for a sixth-generation fighter under the current administration, after the company won the Air Force's F-47 program in March 2025.¹²³⁷

Before capturing the F-47 and F/A-XX deals, Boeing had mostly withdrawn from fighter jet production, despite decades of experience manufacturing carrier-based planes for the Navy. Steve Parker, president and chief executive of Boeing Defence, Space & Security, said the company had invested in new facilities to support both programs at once. Parker said building two advanced fighters simultaneously had always been the company's intention, and that Boeing had invested with that goal in mind. he added that the company is equipped to run several next-generation combat aircraft programs at the same time.¹²⁵

Boeing's manufacturing work will be centred on a secure facility in St. Louis, Missouri, which Boeing says is the country's biggest facility of its kind and is close to finishing an expansion project. Details of the F/A-XX program remain classified under U.S. national security and export laws.¹⁰⁸⁶³

Delays and capacity concerns

The award follows a turbulent year for the program. In mid-2025 the Pentagon sought to put F/A-XX on indefinite hold over worries about engineering capacity, but lawmakers preserved its funding, earmarking $750 million through that year's tax and spending legislation plus another $1.4 billion for fiscal 2026. Officials had also raised questions about whether Boeing could execute the F-47 and Navy fighter programs simultaneously.¹²³

Timelines for the decision shifted repeatedly. In April 2026, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, publicly committed to announcing a winner by August. By late September, Caudle told Aviation Week he was no longer certain when the decision would come, shortly before the Pentagon confirmed Boeing's selection.³

Caudle said the outcome ultimately turned on which contractor had the industrial capacity to deliver. "I know these things are expensive, and I know the defense industrial base is compressed, but we have got to figure out how to walk and chew gum here with aircraft," he said. Air Force General Dale White had separately reiterated concerns about industrial capacity for running the F/A-XX and F-47 programs concurrently.³¹¹

Replacing the Super Hornet fleet

The jet is meant to succeed the Navy's F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets along with EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare planes, with entry into service planned for sometime in the 2030s. The Navy separately plans to buy more than 270 F-35C jets for its carrier fleet. Officials have cited China's swift rollout of advanced combat jets, including sixth-generation types, as a reason the Navy must act fast, warning that a slower pace could leave it without a modern carrier fighter through the 2030s and beyond.¹²⁷⁶

Pentagon undersecretary Michael Duffey described the program as central to future capability. Duffey said F/A-XX stands as a central element of the nation's effort to preserve peace through strength. he said the aircraft would control contested airspace, extend the military's operational range, and provide a decisive edge in combat. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao described the award as a milestone, saying it ushers in a new era for the U.S. Navy. Navy, calling the sixth-generation jet a major leap forward in air dominance.³

Northrop Grumman, which lost the competition, said it had offered a strong alternative design. Northrop Grumman said it had proposed a highly survivable, digitally advanced sixth-generation aircraft to the U.S. Navy. and that it was awaiting further details on the Navy's decision, the company said. Its shares fell 3.6 percent following the announcement, while Boeing stock rose 2.4 percent in after-hours trading, according to Malay Mail.⁵⁶