The U.S. Navy announced on September 29, 2026, that Boeing has won the F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter competition, a contract valued at approximately $20 billion. The award covers the full-scale development phase and includes procurement of multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing, according to a Pentagon press release.
Boeing beat out Northrop Grumman for the contract. Lockheed Martin was reportedly eliminated from the competition in March 2025. The announcement came after the Navy missed a self-imposed August deadline for the decision, which had raised concerns that the program might slip back into limbo.
The F/A-XX program had faced an uncertain future after the Pentagon moved to freeze it in June 2025, citing concerns about the U.S. industrial base’s capacity to support two next-generation fighter programs simultaneously. Boeing had won the U.S. Air Force’s F-47 competition three months earlier. Congress intervened to keep F/A-XX running, and in April 2026, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said a winner would be announced in August. Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao also publicly committed to that timeline.
Boeing’s St. Louis facility will be the main production site for F/A-XX, with a 1.1 million square feet expansion nearing completion, making it the largest fighter manufacturing facility in the United States, according to Naval News. 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.”
Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, said in a statement: “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.”
The F/A-XX is intended to augment F-35Cs and replace the aging F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with a focus on multi-role capability, manned-unmanned teaming, and greater payload and fuel capacity. The Navy has also been advancing plans for carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, which the sixth-generation fighter is expected to help control.
On the same day, the Air Force awarded Boeing a roughly $2.4 billion contract for 22 F-15EX fighter jets, bringing the total F-15EX under contract to 120 aircraft, about half of a planned fleet of 267. The F-15EX award was issued to meet an Oct. 1 deadline to contract reconciliation funds or face an 8.3 percent cut.
If F/A-XX follows the F-47’s timeline of three years between contract award and first flight, the aircraft could fly as soon as the end of the decade, according to Naval News. The Navy expects Super Hornets to begin leaving service sometime in the late 2030s.
Sources: The War Zone · Naval News