Pentagon Taps Boeing to Build U.S. Navy's Next-Generation Stealth Fighter
By Mike Stone and Dan Catchpole
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Reuters) – The Pentagon has selected Boeing to build the U.S. Navy's next-generation stealth fighter, a $20 billion development contract to produce test aircraft that could grow into hundreds of billions of dollars over the life of the program as production ramps up and international customers potentially place orders.
The award, announced Tuesday, gives Boeing its second consecutive marquee win on a sixth-generation fighter. The company was also selected in March of last year to build the Air Force's F-47. Boeing beat Northrop Grumman Corp. for the Navy contract after a competition delayed for months by Pentagon concerns over engineering and supply-chain capacity.
Boeing shares rose 2.25% in extended trading Tuesday. Northrop shares fell 3.5%.
A production boost for St. Louis
The contract is a significant lift for Boeing's fighter production operations in St. Louis, Missouri, where the company is shutting down the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler lines.
The new jet, currently designated F/A-XX, is intended to replace the Super Hornet and become the centerpiece of the Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems. It is expected to feature advanced stealth, greater range and endurance, and the ability to integrate with uncrewed combat aircraft and the Navy's carrier-based air defense systems.
Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a statement that the company has invested in new facilities “uniquely suited to build multiple products with next-generation capabilities” and that its team is ready to execute the program.
Michael Duffey, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, called the jet “a crucial, non-negotiable investment in America's national security and long-term air combat capabilities.”
Boeing's long history building carrier-based fighters gave it an edge throughout the competition. That pedigree helped offset questions from defense officials about whether Boeing could field enough engineers and suppliers to execute both the F-47 and the Navy fighter at the same time. Those concerns appear to have been resolved in Boeing's favor.
Delays and congressional intervention
The F/A-XX program has been buffeted by delays and funding disputes for years. Last year, the Pentagon tried to delay the contract, and some officials pushed for a delay of up to three years, citing engineering and supply-chain capacity concerns, before Congress intervened. Lawmakers earmarked $750 million for the program in the 2025 tax-cut and spending law and an additional $1.4 billion in fiscal 2026.
Lockheed Martin Corp. was eliminated from the competition in March 2025 after Navy officials determined its design had not met required criteria, leaving Boeing and Northrop as finalists.
Jeremiah Gertler, an aerospace expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Boeing had largely exited the fighter business before winning the F-47 and F/A-XX contracts. “What we don't know yet is how much F-47 DNA is in the F/A-XX,” he said. “Are they being developed together or separately?”
Democratic and Republican members of Congress from Missouri, which backed President Donald Trump in the last three elections, successfully pushed to continue funding the program. Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said in a statement that production of the F/A-XX and F-47 would create more opportunities to attract engineering and technology talent to Missouri.
The workers who assemble Boeing fighter jets went on strike for 101 days last year, returning to work without winning concessions from the company.
Pressure from China and the road ahead
With China rapidly fielding advanced combat aircraft, including designs Beijing describes as sixth-generation, the Navy has faced pressure to move quickly or risk operating without a modern carrier-based fighter in the 2030s and beyond.
The Navy still plans to buy more than 270 Lockheed Martin F-35C jets for its carrier fleet. Those aircraft are expected to fly alongside the F/A-XX once it enters service. First production F/A-XX jets are expected in the 2030s, while the Super Hornet fleet, in service since the 1990s, is expected to remain flying into the 2040s.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Matthew Lewis and Sonali Paul)