The US Navy has selected Boeing to develop the F/A-XX, its sixth-generation carrier-based strike fighter, giving the company both of the US military’s next-generation crewed fighter programs.
The US Department of War announced the award on September 29, 2026, valuing the contract at more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase. The deal covers multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems and weapons integration testing. Boeing had been competing against Northrop Grumman since Lockheed Martin was eliminated from the competition in March 2025.
Boeing takes both next-generation fighter competitions
The contract follows the US Air Force’s selection of Boeing for the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter on March 21, 2025. “Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly,” said Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Northrop Grumman, which can challenge the outcome, said it had offered the US Navy a “survivable, digitally advanced design” and was waiting for more details on the selection.
The F/A-XX stalled for months after the F-47 award. The Pentagon approved moving ahead with a choice between Boeing and Northrop Grumman in October 2025, but no winner was named. Congress later allocated $897 million to the program in the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act and required the Pentagon to award a development contract.
The US Navy had been expected to announce its pick by the end of August 2026. The award ultimately came just before the fiscal year closed on September 30, 2026, when the funding added for the program was due to expire. Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, described the fighter as “a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength.”
F/A-XX to replace the Super Hornet from the 2030s
According to the Pentagon, the F/A-XX will augment and eventually replace the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s, operating alongside the F-35C. The requirement dates back to 2008, when the US Navy first identified the need for a new carrier aircraft in the 2030s. The jet is also designed to team with uncrewed aircraft, including the carrier-based collaborative combat aircraft the US Navy is now seeking.
On the same day, the US Navy awarded Boeing a $16.7 million contract to plan the shutdown of the Super Hornet and Growler production lines. Technical and program details of the F/A-XX remain classified.
A fighter double not seen since the McDonnell Douglas era
No single company has won separate US Air Force and US Navy frontline fighter competitions since the 1970s. McDonnell Douglas was selected for the US Air Force’s F-15 in December 1969, and the US Navy picked its design, developed with Northrop, for what became the F/A-18 Hornet on May 2, 1975. The Lockheed Martin F-35, selected in October 2001, equips the US Air Force, the US Navy and the US Marine Corps, but as a single joint program.
Boeing absorbed McDonnell Douglas in 1997, inheriting the St. Louis site that built both the F-15 and the F/A-18. The company said construction continues there on a secure manufacturing facility intended to build multiple next-generation products.