The U.S. Navy has selected Boeing to build its F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier-based fighter, the Pentagon announced on Sept. 29, 2026. The contract is valued at more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase and includes multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing, according to the announcement.
Boeing competed against Northrop Grumman for the award. Earlier in the competition, Lockheed Martin was reportedly eliminated in March 2025. Boeing also builds the U.S. Air Force’s F-47, which the company won in March 2025.
The F/A-XX is the fighter component of the Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems. The aircraft is expected to augment and eventually replace legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s, and will operate alongside the F-35C and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.
The announcement ends a period of uncertainty for the program. The Pentagon had moved to freeze F/A-XX in June 2025, citing concerns that the U.S. industrial base lacked the capacity to support two next-generation fighter programs simultaneously. Congress intervened to keep the program running.
In April 2026, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said a winner would be announced in August, a deadline that passed without an announcement. Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao had also publicly committed to that timeline.
“The F/A-XX is a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength. F/A-XX will dominate contested airspace, extend operational reach, and deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” said Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment.
Caudle has been vocal about the need for the aircraft, saying in January 2026 that “our ability to fly with impunity with our existing airframes is fleeting” and that adversaries like Iran are gaining capabilities that the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet “will not match against.”
Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and CEO Steve Parker said in a statement: “Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly. We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs.”
Sources: USNI News · The War Zone