Boeing Might Win the U.S. Navy’s 6th-Generation Fighter Contest

Summary and Key Points: Boeing is uniquely positioned to win the Navy’s F/A-XX 6th-generation fighter competition, building on extensive experience upgrading its iconic F/A-18.

-Over decades, Boeing enhanced the Super Hornet’s stealth, extended its flight hours through structural upgrades, and implemented advanced technologies like “Magic Carpet” landing software, conformal fuel tanks, and infrared search-and-track (IRST) targeting systems.

-These innovations transformed the F/A-18 from a Cold War fighter into a highly advanced maritime sensor and attack platform.

-Boeing’s proven record in evolving naval air capabilities and integrating cutting-edge technologies could strongly favor its chances to develop the Navy’s next-generation stealth fighter, significantly influencing future U.S. naval aviation.

Inside Boeing’s Plan to Leverage F/A-18 Success for F/A-XX Victory

Should one venture into the realm of yet-to-be-determined possibilities and envision a Boeing “win” in the ongoing F/A-XX 6th-generation airframe, many significant variables could impact the world of US air attack.

Perhaps the most significant area of possibility exists in the prospect of F/A-18-maker Boeing winning the now-evolving United States Air Force F/A-XX 6th-generation competition.

There is an apparent, simple reason: an opportunity to build a NGAD 6th-generation carrier-launched stealth aircraft would enable Boeing to leverage and build upon its success with the F/A-18. 

Why Boeing Could Win the 6th Generation F/A-XX Fighter Contest 

Although F/A-XX would be a generational, paradigm-changing move beyond the capabilities of the existing 4th-generation F/A-18, Boeing has extensive experience upgrading its F/A-18 well beyond its anticipated capabilities to sustain maritime air-power attack amid a changing threat environment.

Specifically, there is a lesser-known yet highly significant element of the F/A-18’s service life, as Boeing and the Navy have spent years collaborating to successfully extend the service life and technological capabilities of the Super Hornet.

As a 1980s-era fighter, the F/A-18 has been sustained and upgraded such that it has remained critical, practical, and even dominant in some ways more than 30 years later.

This has happened in many ways, as Boeing and the Navy’s Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) have increased the aircraft’s overall service endurance from 6,000 hours up to 8,000 or even 10,000 flight hours.

This has been accomplished with structural airframe reinforcements and a wide array of upgrades and sustainment efforts related to the aircraft. Clearly, the Navy’s F/A-18 is an almost entirely different aircraft from its inception.

As far back as a decade ago, senior US Navy weapons developers consistently asked for more F/A-18s to help the Carrier Air Wing bridge and sustain while awaiting the arrival of the F-35C. 

Boeing and Magic Carpet Software

Boeing and the Navy have spent many years implementing new upgrades and experimenting with cutting-edge improvements to the F/A-18.

The cockpit, for example, has been completely redesigned with digital technologies, new sensors, and a paradigm-changing software adjustment.

One of the software improvements that proved quite successful is referred to as “magic carpet,” a series of computer algorithms able to help pilots navigate the “glide slope” onto a carrier deck for smoother, more secure landings at sea.

As part of the effort to integrate this new technology, Boeing gained valuable experience connecting emerging technologies to the challenges of landing on a carrier at sea. 

The Navy also experimented with “conformal” fuel tanks for the F/A-18, specially configured fuselage-shaped fuel-carrying structures intended to extend dwell time, prolong missions, and enable longer-term targeting operations.

F/A-18 pilots also received advanced Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems and headword devices that projected critical targeting data into the pilot’s vision scope. With the JHMCS technology, pilots could pinpoint an enemy target by simply looking at it. 

Other F/A-18 innovations were also related to the realm of stealth. As a 4th-generation aircraft, the F/A-18 has not been regarded as a stealth aircraft. Yet, Boeing and the Navy experimented with radar-signature lowering innovations for the aircraft.

F/A-XX Fighter for US Navy. Navy graphic mockup.

The addition of conformal fuel tanks was part of this, as it contributed to a smoother, more horizontal configuration that was less detectable by enemy radar.

The Navy also worked with Boeing to experiment with a smooth external “weapons pod” designed to enable the aircraft to carry weapons without hanging “sharp” structures beneath the wings. The idea was to engineer a smooth, stealthier kind of external “pod” to carry weapons to lower the aircraft’s radar signature.

Of course, fewer sharp edges and protruding structures, such as weapons on hardpoints, would make it difficult for enemy radar to receive a clear, detailed return picture or “rendering” of the aircraft. These initiatives indicate that Boeing has spent many years working with the Navy to optimize maritime fighter jet air attacks. 

F/A-18 as Sensor and F/A-XX

Yet another adaptation Boeing and the Navy implemented relates to the sensing and targeting technologies woven into the aircraft, something that could help F/A-XX development.

In recent years, Boeing’s F/A-18 has been integrated with a next-generation targeting system called Infrared Search and Track (IRST). 

This advanced technology, which has increasingly been integrated into other aircraft, dramatically enhances the range, precision, and image fidelity of the aircraft’s targeting technology. IRST is also designed to enable the aircraft to function more effectively in an electronic warfare (EW) environment.

These adaptations are likely a key reason why the F/A-18 became regarded as an excellent “sensor” or “targeting” platform during air attacks against ISIS. This was slightly surprising, given that the F/A-18 became well known as a sensing aircraft and understood for its primary air attack capacity. 

This suggests that Boeing might be exceptionally well suited to harvest its years of experience working to enhance carrier-launched air attacks in support of a 6th-generation F/A-XX F/A-18 replacement. 

About the Author: Defense Expert Kris Osborn 

Kris Osborn is the Military Technology Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.