With the Pentagon’s announcement this week that Boeing will develop the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX carrier-based fighter, the manufacturer now faces pressure to deliver on two key next-generation fighter programs by the 2030s.
Boeing in 2025 won a contract valued at over $20 billion for the U.S. Air Force’s sixth-generation F-47 program to replace its F-22 Raptor fleet, with first flight targeted for 2028.
Like the F-22s, the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers are tentatively scheduled to be retired in the 2030s. Both branches are now relying on Boeing to deliver an improved replacement.
According to the Pentagon, Boeing’s full-scale development contract for the F/A-XX is similarly valued north of $20 billion. It will cover the procurement of multiple aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing. Future production contracts would fund manufacturing of operational fighters designed to complement the Navy’s F-35Cs.
The Pentagon in its announcement of the contract said the F/A-XX will aim to extend the range of Navy aircraft carriers. The branch is seeking to improve the range of its fighters by about 25 percent, though it is unclear exactly how far the F/A-XX would be designed to fly. The Air Force is targeting a combat range of about 1,000 nm for the F-47.
Crucially, the F/A-XX is intended to be capable of teaming with uncrewed aircraft platforms, such as the four Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) the Navy is exploring under contracts with Boeing, General Atomics, Anduril, and Northrop Grumman—the other company that was competing for the contract that went to Boeing.
The sixth-generation fighters and CCA are part of the Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which seeks to augment existing capabilities by allowing crewed jets to command swarms of uncrewed drones. The Pentagon said the F/A-XX would “increase the capability of every CCA it teams with.”
Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said the sixth-generation fighter will “dominate contested airspace, extend operational reach, and deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” calling it a “crucial, non-negotiable investment in America’s national security and long-term air combat capabilities.”
Despite expending resources on both the F/A-XX and F-47 programs, Boeing believes it will be able to deliver what the Navy seeks.
“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,” Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a news release.
One Company, 2 Key Programs
The Navy began exploring concepts for the F/A-XX in 2008 after identifying a need to eventually replace its existing fighters. In the years since, it has been relatively quiet about the program’s current requirements and cost.
Boeing in its news release said the jet will feature advanced mission systems, extend the reach and capability of carriers, and advance an open mission system architecture. The Navy encourages a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), with hardware and software designed to certain standards so that it can be seamlessly updated, swapped, or scaled as technology and missions evolve.
The manufacturer said technical and programmatic details of the F/A-XX remain classified. The fighter will get an official designation at a later stage.
Production capacity concerns and funding disputes have posed obstacles to the F/A-XX program.
The Navy in recent years has sought to delay program funding to prioritize near-term investments. For fiscal year 2026 (FY26), the branch requested just $74 million for it, but the program ultimately received about $1.7 billion. The Navy made another low request, about $140 million, for the F/A-XX in FY27, but lawmakers have similarly stepped in to raise that allocation to about $915 million.
The F-47 program received close to $3.5 billion in FY26, and the Pentagon is seeking about $5 billion in 2027. The Air Force wants some 200 next-generation fighters, which like the F/A-XX would be capable of teaming with CCA.
Boeing on Tuesday downplayed the potential risk of allowing one manufacturer to take the lead on both multibillion-dollar projects.
“Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly,” said Parker. “We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs.”
The company has been undertaking a multibillion-dollar expansion of its facilities in St. Louis to support its next-generation fighter efforts. It is building what it claims will be the largest secure manufacturing facility in the U.S. and one of the world’s most advanced.