By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Pentagon has decided which company will make the U.S. Navy’s next-generation stealth fighter and could announce the winner in the coming weeks or sooner, two people briefed on the matter said.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman are competing for the contract, which previous programs of similar scope suggest could be worth tens of billions of dollars over its lifetime.
The program, currently unnamed but designated F/A-XX, has been buffeted by delays and funding disputes for years. Some Pentagon officials had sought to delay it by up to three years, citing concerns about engineering and supply chain capacity. Congress pushed back, earmarking $750 million for F/A-XX in the massive tax-cut and spending bill signed into law in 2025 and an additional $1.4 billion in fiscal 2026.
With China rapidly fielding advanced combat aircraft — including ones Beijing describes as sixth-generation — the stakes of further delay are high, leaving the Navy without a modern fighter capable of operating from carriers in the 2030s and beyond, potentially undermining its ability to project power in contested environments, a U.S. official has said.
A Pentagon spokesperson said, “We continue work to award the F/A-XX contract in the near future. There is no additional information at this time.”
The carrier-borne fighter jet will be the centerpiece of the Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems, intended to replace the aging F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet that has been in service since the 1990s.
It is expected to feature advanced stealth capabilities, improved range and endurance, and the ability to integrate with uncrewed combat aircraft and the Navy’s carrier-based air defense systems. The first production jets are expected to enter service in the 2030s, while F/A-18s are expected to remain in service into the 2040s.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Daniel Wallis)
