A confrontation seems imminent over the fate of the upcoming F/A-XX naval fighter jet, with planners in Congress and the U.S. Navy on one side, and the Trump administration on the other.
At issue is the fighter that will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the U.S. Navy’s fourth-generation carrier-based fighter. The Super Hornet flies alongside the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter.
A Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate guides an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the “Warhawks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 97 into place on catapult three aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing 11 are conducting a Composite Training Unit Exercise off the coast of Southern California in preparation of a scheduled deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.
An announcement on the F/A-XX program was expected as early as March, but that decision seems to have been delayed. The contract award is likely worth hundreds of billions of dollars over a program lifetime that will span decades.
While the Navy would like to move quickly to declare a winner, the current administration has qualms about overall production numbers, as well as concerns over the engineering challenges the program faces as it attempts to bring a viable sixth-generation platform onto U.S. flattops.
To Delay, or not to Delay F/A-XX
There are differing viewpoints on the delay—and indeed, one anonymous official told TWZ that “nothing is being delayed.”
The unnamed official added that “a decision [on the F/A-XX program] hasn’t been made yet. That decision is still being determined by [the Pentagon] and service leaders, with conversations among Congress as well. It’s a big program. Obviously these things don’t get settled on by one individual. Leaders are making a decision on whether to invest. It’s all part of the process.”
Definitive information about the upcoming F/A-XX is sparse. However, one U.S. Naval Aviation strategy document explained that the future naval fighter “is expected to feature superior range, speed, and sensor capabilities, with an emphasis on integrating manned and unmanned systems. This includes collaboration with autonomous drones serving as force multipliers and electronic warfare assets.”
Contract Uncertainty and Competing Programs
Northrup Grumman is well-positioned to win the award. The aerospace firm is behind the B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider stealth bombers, which are both flying-wing designs that are considered extremely stealthy. The firm has built dozens of aircraft for the Department of Defense during the decades spanning the Second World War, the Cold War, and into the present day.
Boeing won the award to build the U.S. Air Force’s F-47, which emerged from the Next Generation Air Dominance initiative to build that service’s sixth-generation fighter. Though the initial award language counted 185 airframes, that number could very well move upward as the United States’ geopolitical challenges continue to multiply.
Still, there are questions about the wisdom of heavily investing in both the F-47 and F/A-XX programs—even at a time that is, from a geopolitical standpoint, rather precarious. Neither sixth-generation aircraft project will enter service this decade. And with the possibility of a peer conflict with China or Russia looming on the horizon, some argue it would be better to quickly boost the capabilities the United States has now, rather than invest time and money into platforms that will fight no adversary any time in the near future.
F/A-18 Hornet. Image taken at National Air and Space Museum on October 1, 2022. Image by 19FortyFive.
F/A-18 Hornet. Image taken at National Air and Space Museum on October 1, 2022. Image by 19FortyFive.
Block III Super Hornet. A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 flies past the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) in the Philippine Sea Aug. 21, 2013. The George Washington was underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.
To that end, Lockheed Martin’s CEO Jim Taiclet explained during a quarterly earnings call that, “There are techniques and capabilities… that were developed for [the NGAD] that we can now apply [to the Fifth-generation F-35].
“We’re basically going to take the [F-35] chassis and turn it into a Ferrari.”
Taiclet emphasized the financials behind the idea, explaining that Lockheed Martin could revamp the F-35, which is already in widespread use, at an affordable price.
“I feel that we can have 80% of the capability, potentially at 50% of the cost per unit aircraft, by taking the F-35 chassis and applying numerous advanced technologies — some of which are already in process in Block 4 on F-35—but [also] others that we can apply,” he said. “Eventually, there’ll be 3,500 of those [F-35] chassis out there at various stages of technology and capability [worldwide],” Taiclet said. “We think we can get most of the way to sixth-gen at half the cost.”
What Happens Now?
As of this writing, several big-ticket items are all competing for limited funding dollars. In addition to the Air Force’s F-47, the Navy’s F/A-XX and the B-21 Raider bomber are expected to be incredibly capable platforms—that are also incredibly expensive. The economics of upgrading and improving the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II into fifth-generation-plus aircraft might indeed prove attractive.
Maj. Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson, F-22 Raptor Demo Team commander and pilot, maneuvers into a climb after a tactical-pitch at the Cold Lake Air Show July 17, 2022, at Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. The F-22 Raptor’s two Pratt and Whitney F119 Turbofan engines bring a combined 70,000 pounds of thrust in combination with two-dimensional thrust vectoring to enable maximum maneuverability for the multi-role air-to-air stealth fighter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Don Hudson)
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. – F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing sit in position on the runway during the Elephant Walk at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2025. The surge was designed to showcase the wing’s operational readiness and its ability to rapidly mobilize airpower. The 1st FW operates F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons, maintaining combat capabilities that enable the U.S. Air Force to execute missions across the globe. With a focus on air superiority, the 1st FW plays a critical role in defending the nation’s interests. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
Aircraft from the 1st Fighter Wing conducted an Elephant Walk at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2025, showcasing the wing’s readiness and operational agility. This demonstration highlighted the wing’s capability to mobilize forces rapidly in high-stress scenarios. The wing’s fleet includes F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons. As Air Combat Command’s lead wing, the 1 FW maintains unparalleled combat readiness to ensure national defense at a moment’s notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
But prioritizing a raft of upgrades to older platforms, rather than building fresh designs that incorporate new technologies, risks creating a developmental dead end in the future, not unlike Boeing’s proposed Super Phantom upgrades, which the Air Force ultimately rejected in favor of the more capable teen-series fighters.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
