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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

The Pentagon has awarded a $20.7 billion multiyear contract to RTX to nearly double production of AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, a major investment in a core combat capability.

In a related development, the Navy’s Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Northwest awarded a separate $9 billion multiple-award construction contract on Sept. 30, 2026, the largest single procurement action in that command’s history. That contract, which covers a one-year base period, two two-year options, and one three-year option period, spans up to 96 months through September 2034 and will support military installation revitalization across Washington State.

Sources: Air & Space Forces Magazine · DVIDS News

The U.S. Navy announced Sept. 29 that it is procuring 30 medium unmanned surface vessels (MUSVs) under its Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel Family of Systems program, awarding contracts to Galliano Marine Services, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), and Saronic Technologies. Each company will build 10 vessels at an average procurement cost of $40 million per vessel, for a total of approximately $1.2 billion, according to Chris Miller, the Navy’s Acting Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems.

The awards were made under Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements, a contracting mechanism intended to support rapid prototyping and research and development. The contracts follow successful at-sea testing under Phase I of the MUSV program, in which seven companies competed. The other competitors—Birdon, Leidos, PacMar Technologies, and Sea Machines—completed testing but did not receive production awards.

“The awards mark a significant step forward in translating the strategic vision into a tangible fleet capability,” Miller said at a media roundtable. “Each agreement is for the procurement of 10 MUSV at an average procurement cost of $40 million per vessel.”

Production will begin immediately at shipyards in Loreauville, Houma, and Franklin, Louisiana, with deliveries starting as early as the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027, Miller said.

The Phase I at-sea testing evaluated the vessels’ ability to perceive the maritime environment, navigate autonomously according to international collision regulations, and conduct long-duration missions. The long-duration test required each vessel to operate for roughly 26 hours and cover more than 360 nautical miles with only a single input from a command-and-control station, Miller explained. The awards were based on “the optimal mix of autonomy, performance, design, production schedule, and cost,” he added.

Phase II of the program will allow entrants to compete and existing vendors to submit updated product blocks and modular payload configurations. Testing evaluations will begin as early as Nov. 16, and proposals will be assessed on a rolling basis over the next five years, Miller said. He also noted that speed and at-sea refueling targets from Phase I were eliminated based on lessons learned.

Phase II requirements include designs no longer than 295 feet (90 meters) and displacing no more than 5,000 metric tons, the ability to carry at least two 20-foot equivalent unit containerized payloads weighing 24,000 kg each and consuming 25 kW each, and the capability for multi-day unmanned operations of at least 10 days. Vessels must be operable in NATO STANAC 4194 Sea State 4 and survivable in Sea State 6.

Sources: USNI News · The War Zone

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

The Pentagon has ordered another $52.3 million worth of L3Harris proximity fuzes that turn laser-guided APKWS rockets into drone killers, more than doubling the value of a fuze contract signed just four months ago.

The firm-fixed-price modification, announced by the U.S. Department of War, adds to a contract the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division awarded L3Harris Fuzing and Ordnance Systems in late May. The work will be done in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is due to be finished by November 2027. The notice does not say how many fuzes the money buys.

A proximity fuze sets off a warhead when it senses a target nearby, so the rocket does not have to hit a small, fast-moving drone directly to destroy it. L3Harris calls the product its Mechanical Proximity Fuze, also known as the FALCO fuze, after the Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance program. It combines radio-frequency sensor electronics from Technology Service Corporation with an L3Harris safe-and-arm device.

The fuze is fitted to the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS, a BAE Systems guidance kit that turns ordinary 70 mm (2.75-inch) Hydra rockets into laser-guided weapons. The rockets are far cheaper than air-to-air missiles, and a single F-16 carrying six seven-tube launchers can hold 42 of them.

U.S. Air Force F-16s began using proximity-fuzed APKWS rockets to shoot down Houthi one-way attack drones over the Red Sea in 2024. In testing at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, APKWS rockets with the L3Harris fuze destroyed Group 3 drones, the larger class of unmanned aircraft, every time, The Defence Blog reported in May. The same fuze arms rockets fired by L3Harris’ VAMPIRE, a truck-mounted counter-drone launcher that Ukraine has used against Russian drones since 2023.

The original May contract was worth $48.5 million, with options that could raise it to about $98 million and deliveries running through July 2027. L3Harris has said demand is pushing it to increase proximity fuze production sevenfold. Most of the new money, $44.8 million, or 86%, comes from fiscal 2026 Defense-wide operations and maintenance funds. Another $3.8 million comes from fiscal 2025 funds of the same type, which expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, and $3.7 million comes from fiscal 2026 U.S. Army ammunition procurement funds. The notice does not say which units will receive the fuzes.

The Pentagon is also developing a newer air-to-air version of APKWS. In February 2026, the U.S. Air Force awarded BAE Systems a contract worth up to $145 million for an APKWS variant with a long-wave infrared seeker and a proximity-fuzed warhead, which lets the rocket home in on a drone’s heat without a pilot having to keep a laser on the target. That version is planned for U.S. Air Force F-16s and U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopters.

Sources: DefenseScoop · Defence Blog

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Raytheon a multi-year contract worth up to $20.7 billion to build AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, a deal the company says will push production of the weapon to record levels.

The award, announced Sept. 25 by the U.S. Department of War, covers complete missiles, spare guidance sections and related work, and runs through June 30, 2033. Raytheon will build the missiles in Tucson, Arizona. The contract does not state how many missiles it will buy.

The AMRAAM, short for Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile and also known as the AIM-120, is a radar-guided missile fighter jets use to shoot down enemy aircraft beyond visual range. Now in its fifth generation, it is carried on 14 aircraft and ground platforms and fielded by 44 countries, and has recorded more than 7,000 successful live firings in tests and combat, Raytheon said. It is also the main interceptor for NASAMS, the ground-based air defense system Norway and Raytheon developed together, which Ukraine uses against Russian cruise missiles and drones.

Raytheon described the deal as a five-year multi-year contract with two option years, awarded under the Department of War’s “Arsenal of Freedom” push to expand munitions production. Multi-year contracts let the Pentagon buy several years’ worth of weapons at once, which gives manufacturers the confidence to invest in factories and suppliers and usually lowers the price per missile.

The award follows a framework agreement Raytheon and the Department of War signed on Feb. 4, 2026, under which the company committed to producing at least 1,900 AMRAAMs a year. That agreement was one of five covering Tomahawk cruise missiles, AMRAAM and three Standard Missile interceptor variants. RTX, Raytheon’s parent company, said it nearly doubled AMRAAM output in 2025 compared with 2024 and is working with small and mid-sized suppliers across the country, as well as exploring co-production with international partners, to raise it further.

Much of the demand comes from abroad. The contract includes foreign military sales to 16 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

The contract is a sole-source award, meaning Raytheon did not compete for it, and part of it is an undefinitized contract action. That lets work begin before the government and the company agree on final prices and terms, up to a set ceiling, in this case $20.7 billion.

Only a small share of the money has been committed so far. The Department of War obligated $85,715 in fiscal 2026 U.S. Air Force weapons procurement funds and about $154.3 million in foreign military sales funds at the time of award. The rest will be released as the contract is finalized and future budgets are approved.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, manages the contract.

Sources: DVIDS News · Army Times

The US Navy, UK Royal Navy, and UK Royal Air Force sank the decommissioned guided-missile frigate Klakring during a sinking exercise held Sept. 14-25 as part of Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 in the North Atlantic, the US Navy told reporters Sept. 28.

The exercise tested live-fire capabilities against a surface target at sea and was intended to foster US-UK interoperability for long-range maritime sinking operations, according to the Navy. The final blow to the Klakring was delivered by an Mk 48 Advanced Capability Torpedo fired from the Virginia-class submarine USS Massachusetts.

US Navy Capt. Kelechi Ndukwe, commander of 6th Fleet’s Task Force 65, said the destroyer USS Paul Ignatius fired an SM-6 missile during the exercise.

“We were testing the surface-to-surface engagement ability at the furthest range that we could,” Ndukwe said. “We were just testing that range.”

Ndukwe did not disclose the exact range tested. The Center for Strategic and International Studies lists the SM-6’s range at nearly 230 miles.

Ndukwe also confirmed that a Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter launched the Sea Venom missile and that the Royal Navy employed its Naval Strike Missile during the exercise.

Before the drill, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific installed sensors aboard the Klakring to collect data from the sinking, which Ndukwe said will be used to “really push the envelope on what we’re able to do with future weapons designs.”

“We started with the longest-range ordinance, which is why we were going with SM-6 first, and then moved into shorter range,” Ndukwe told reporters. “The embedded sensors that were on the frigate will analyze the data and the impact zones and the more the technical aspect over the course of the next few months as all of that data is processed.”

Additional units involved included the Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland, US Navy and Royal Air Force P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles.

“Atlantic Thunder demonstrates the unmatched lethality and interoperability of the United States and United Kingdom,” Ndukwe said in a statement. “This sinking exercise not only validated the power behind U.S.-UK offensive weapons but delivers a clear message to adversaries that the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy remain a ready allied force.”

Ndukwe said the data collected from the embedded sensors will be analyzed over the next few months.

Sources: US Army · DoD News

The U.S. Navy has again delayed the return to service of the damaged submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22), with a new target completion date of summer 2027, according to a Navy official speaking to The War Zone on Sept. 28, 2026. The previous timeline had projected completion by late 2026.

The Connecticut, a Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine, has been undergoing an Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility since February 2023. The Navy official said current work consists of “structural and systems restoration and required lifecycle maintenance.”

The submarine suffered severe damage, especially to its bow, in a collision with an underwater seamount in the South China Sea in October 2021. It first went to Guam, then San Diego, before arriving at Puget Sound.

The repair timeline has slipped multiple times. At the start of the EDSRA in February 2023, the Navy projected completion in September 2025. By July 2023, the schedule had shifted to early 2026, according to Naval News. In July 2025, the service confirmed to The War Zone that the timeline had moved to late 2026.

The exact reasons for the delays are unclear. The War Zone noted the particular complexities of major repairs to any of the Navy’s three Seawolf-class submarines, as the class is long out of production and only three boats were ever built. The Navy’s 2025 Fiscal Year budget proposal sought funds for spare bow domes “for use in the event replacement is required,” citing a “three plus year lead time” to produce.

In 2021, Congress approved $40 million for emergency repairs for the Connecticut and an additional $10 million for a new bow dome, but the full price tag is expected to be far steeper. The Seawolf-class submarines cost approximately $3.1 billion apiece in 1983, or some $10.6 billion in 2026 dollars.

The Navy is also planning to inactivate the Connecticut in 2031, making it the first Seawolf-class submarine to be retired, per its most recent annual shipbuilding plan. USS Seawolf is currently scheduled to start a routine maintenance availability next May, which will run through February 2030, per Navy budget documents.

Sources: DVIDS News · The War Zone

Retired general Wayne Eyre, Canada’s former chief of the defence staff, says he considered resigning “several times” during his tenure amid clashes with the former Trudeau government over the military’s sexual misconduct scandal and defence spending, according to his new memoir, Into the Breach: A Soldier’s Journey, published Sept. 28, 2026.

Eyre, who was promoted from army commander to the top job after now-retired admiral Art MacDonald stepped aside in February 2021, described the experience of navigating the misconduct scandal as “soul crushing.” He recounted a June 2021 incident in which he felt thrown “under the bus” by then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland after she publicly questioned his decision to keep Vice-Admiral Craig Baines in his post as navy commander. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also publicly questioned the decision. Baines had played golf with former CDS Jonathan Vance, who was under military police investigation over allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Eyre said he was on the phone with Trudeau, about to resign, when Trudeau said he still had confidence in him. Trudeau then issued a further statement of support. Eyre served another three years after the incident.

Eyre also detailed frustrations over the government’s handling of Ukraine support. He said Canada received advanced warning from Washington on Feb. 11, 2022, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Eyre described a “collision of ideology with reality” over the government’s reluctance to approve lethal aid, and criticized its “inability to make decisions at the speed of war.” He noted Canada later outstripped allies in delivering some equipment, such as Leopard tanks.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s September 2023 visit to Canada, Eyre wrote that he and other senior military leaders had a hard time reconciling “bellicose” speeches from Trudeau and Freeland with a “billion-dollar budget cut” and “lethargy to approve a new defence policy.” He also described confusion in June 2022 over where $38 billion in funding for a new NORAD commitment would come from, calling it a “smoke and mirrors” approach that reallocated billions already earmarked for other equipment.

Eyre said he ultimately stayed because resigning “is an inherently political act” that could further fray political-military relations and cause turmoil in the institution. He now says Canada needs more “urgency” in rebuilding its military.

Sources: CBC Politics · Global News Canada

Retired general Wayne Eyre, Canada’s former chief of the defence staff, is publicly urging the new government of Prime Minister Mark Carney to accelerate military investment, arguing that the current public and political willingness to fund the armed forces is a time-limited opportunity.

In interviews and his new memoir, Into the Breach: A Soldier’s Journey, Eyre said Canada needs more “urgency” in rebuilding its military. He said the “social licence” for increased defence spending may not last, and the government should act quickly to take advantage of it.

Eyre served as chief of the defence staff from February 2021 to July 2024. He said he considered resigning “several times” during his tenure, including over disputes with the former Trudeau government about defence funding and the state of military readiness.

In the memoir, Eyre recounts a June 2021 incident in which he felt thrown “under the bus” by then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who publicly questioned his decision to keep Vice-Admiral Craig Baines in his post as commander of the navy. Baines had played golf with former chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance, who was under military police investigation at the time. Eyre said he was on the phone with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and about to resign when Trudeau said he still had confidence in him.

Eyre also describes frustration over defence funding decisions. He wrote that in June 2022, ahead of the announcement of Canada’s new NORAD commitment, no one seemed to know where $38 billion in funding would come from or how it would be allocated. He called it a “smoke and mirrors” funding approach, with billions already allocated for other equipment taken away and reallocated, with most investments coming years in the future.

He also noted a billion-dollar budget cut that the government had inflicted on the military around the time of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s September 2023 visit to Canada, when Trudeau and Freeland gave “bellicose, impassioned speeches” about supporting Ukraine.

Eyre said he stayed in the job because resigning would have caused “significant turmoil in the institution.” He said, “Resigning is an inherently political act, which could further fray political-military relations.”

Eyre’s memoir and comments come as the Carney government faces decisions on defence spending and military modernization. He said the window for action is now, before the “social licence” for major investment closes.

Sources: CBC Politics · Global News Canada