Boeing Lands $20B+ Contract for Navy F/A-XX Fighter Program
Boeing has secured a major contract from the US Navy to produce the F/A-XX aircraft, a sixth-generation fighter designed to replace the service's fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets. The contract, valued at over $20 billion for the full-scale development phase, marks Boeing's second sixth-generation fighter selection and follows its win on the US Air Force's F-47 program in 2025.
The F/A-XX aircraft will feature advanced mission systems, open mission systems architecture, and greater operational reach and capacity. According to the Navy, the aircraft will extend the range of Navy carriers through advanced carrier-based power projection and be interoperable with manned and unmanned systems such as collaborative combat aircraft.
Michael Duffey, under secretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, described the F/A-XX as critical to 'maintaining peace through strength' and emphasized its expected ability to dominate contested airspace and deliver combat advantage. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao characterized the sixth-generation fighter as a 'generational leap in air superiority.'