F/A-XX: Boeing Wins $20 Billion Contract for the Navy’s Stealth Fighter

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Boeing now has both of America’s next-generation fighter jets in the bag. The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the company the contract for the F/A-XX, the U.S. Navy’s new carrier-based stealth fighter. The development contract is worth more than $20 billion (about 17.1 billion euros), and over its lifetime the program could be worth several hundred billion dollars, the German business daily Handelsblatt reported. Just last year, Boeing won the contract for the U.S. Air Force’s F-47.

What the F/A-XX Is Supposed to Do

The F/A-XX is a so-called sixth-generation fighter. Starting in the 2030s, it is to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jet, both also made by Boeing, and fly alongside Lockheed Martin’s F-35C on the Navy’s aircraft carriers. Service entry is targeted for around 2035. Technical details are classified; only the key requirements are known:

• Stealth: The jet is to be nearly invisible to radar and equipped with state-of-the-art sensors.
• Range: The Navy wants roughly a quarter more range than today’s fighters. Because deck space is limited, that has to come from efficiency rather than a bigger airframe.
• Drones: The F/A-XX is to work with uncrewed wingmen, like the “Fury” and “Vengeance” drones the U.S. Air Force is already putting into service.
• Missions: Air combat, strikes on land and sea targets, and close air support.

Michael Duffey, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, called the program “a crucial, non-negotiable investment” in national security. The F/A-XX is seen as central to U.S. strategy in the Pacific, where the Navy is preparing for a possible conflict with China. On top of the development contract, Boeing received about $16.7 million (about 14.2 million euros) to prepare for the end of Super Hornet production.

It Almost Didn’t Happen

The road to the contract was long. The program has been running since 2012, and the award was originally planned for spring 2025. Then the F/A-XX nearly collapsed over funding: In summer 2025, the Pentagon’s budget request included money only for design work, not for a contract award. The program survived only after Congress added funding.

According to the Navy, production capacity tipped the scales in Boeing’s favor. One of the two bidders was in a position where it “really can’t deliver in the timeframe we need it,” Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said ahead of the decision. Boeing says it is building the largest secure manufacturing facility in the United States in St. Louis, where the F-47 and F/A-XX are to be built in parallel. “Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan,” said Steve Parker, chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

Northrop and Lockheed Come Up Empty

For the competition, the decision is a setback. Northrop Grumman, the last remaining rival bidder, lost out, and Lockheed Martin had already been eliminated last year. That leaves Boeing building both of the U.S. military’s next-generation crewed fighters. Investors reacted accordingly: Boeing shares rose about 2 percent, while Northrop Grumman fell about 3.5 percent, The Next Web reported. Northrop remains in the game, however, with the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, of which the U.S. Air Force plans to buy at least 100.

Critics also see risk in the double win. In recent years, Boeing has booked billions of dollars in losses on fixed-price defense contracts, including the KC-46 tanker and the T-7 trainer jet. Whether the company has enough skilled workers and manufacturing capacity to handle two of the world’s most demanding aircraft programs at the same time remains to be seen.