WASHINGTON — The Navy has chosen Boeing over Northrop Grumman to build its sixth-generation strike fighter, dubbed F/A-XX, two sources told Breaking Defense ahead of the formal announcement.
The selection locks Boeing in as the sole supplier of sixth-generation fighters for the US. In March 2025, Boeing won the right to develop and produce the Air Force’s next-gen fighter, dubbed the F-47.
The two wins collectively mean Boeing has iced out both its biggest competitors — Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman — from the sixth-generation American fighter jet marketplace for the foreseeable future, a shocking turnaround for a firm that in early 2025 was at serious risk of ending its fighter production entirely in the coming years. (Lockheed will continue building the fifth-gen F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.)
Per a Pentagon release that followed the publication of this article, the agreement is “valued at more than $20B for the full-scale development phase. The contract procures multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing.” The statement added that the F/A-XX will fly “beginning in the 2030s” for the Navy.
“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,” Michael Duffey, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in the statement.
Hung Cao, the acting navy secretary, said, “The Sixth-Generation fighter is a generational leap in air superiority and will provide the world’s best aviators with unparalleled capabilities to fight, win, and come home safe. We are excited to partner with Boeing, and for our warfighters to continue to dominate the skies and defeat our nation’s enemies.”
Boeing’s defense chief, Steve Parker, called the selection “an honor.”
“Backed by decades of work, bolstered by game-changing innovations and solidified by the investments we’ve made in new facilities uniquely suited to build multiple products with next generation capabilities, our dedicated and talented team is ready to execute this critical program,” Parker said in a statement.
In a statement, Northrop said that it “offered a highly survivable, digitally advanced sixth-generation fighter to the U.S. Navy. We look forward to receiving additional information about their selection.”
A Long Road To Award
The F/A-XX program has had a windy path to this point.
Shortly after the Air Force awarded the F-47 contract, there were rumors that F/A-XX would be next — and then the program seemingly stalled out. In July 2025, the White House declared that moving forward with the Navy fighter would imperil F-47’s success, and officials inside the department quarreled over whether to move forward with the jet. Congress and Navy brass, meanwhile, insisted it will be a crucial part of the air wing of the future.
In his statement, Parker seemingly acknowledged the concerns raised about the ability to produce both fighters, saying “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.”
The Navy kept public information about the program to a minimum, though officials have said the F/A-XX will boast a greater range than current aircraft and serve as a stealthy tip of the spear for the carrier air wing. The next-gen fighter is expected to replace the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.
Yet the competition for F/A-XX was one of the most highly anticipated contract awards for the service outside of its shipbuilding portfolio. Once operational, the new aircraft will join the service’s warships to complement Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a to-be-determined Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
The Navy effort is also referred to as the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, sharing that name with what is now the Air Force’s F-47 program. And while many outside observers previously speculated there may be overlap between the two next-gen fighter efforts beyond their names, Navy officials have repeatedly stated that the service’s fighter will have a separate airframe from the Air Force, eschewing the joint approach controversially used for the F-35 program.
Diana Stancy contributed to this report. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.