On September 29, 2026, the US Department of War announced that the US Navy had awarded Boeing Corporation a long-term contract worth "more than $20 billion" to create a promising sixth-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter aircraft as part of the US Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. It is stated that the contract covers full-scale development and provides for the purchase of "several prototype aircraft for ground and flight tests, system tests and weapons integration tests." The F/A-XX aircraft is scheduled to replace the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler carrier-based fighters in the US Navy starting in the 2030s, and will be in service with the Lockheed Martin F-35C carrier-based fighter.
An officially published image of a promising sixth-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter aircraft under the US Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program (c) of the US Navy
"F/A-XX is the most important pillar of our commitment to maintaining peace through force. The F/A-XX must dominate contested airspace, expand its operational range, and provide decisive combat superiority to our military," said Michael P. Duffy, U.S. Undersecretary of War for Procurement and Sustainment. - "The F/A-XX platform represents a critical, non-negotiable investment in America's national security and long-term air warfare capabilities. We are joining forces with Boeing to rapidly deploy these capabilities, providing our military personnel with the lethal and high-tech systems necessary to deter aggression, demonstrate undeniable power, and ensure absolute air superiority."
"This achievement marks a new era for the U.S. Navy," said Hong Kao, Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy. - "The sixth generation fighter is a leap in gaining air superiority, which will provide the best pilots in the world with unprecedented opportunities to conduct combat operations, win and return home safely. We are pleased to cooperate with Boeing and ensure that our military continues to dominate the skies and defeat our country's enemies."
Thus, Boeing was the winner in the competition to create a sixth-generation carrier-based fighter for the US Navy, beating Northrop Grumman Corporation. Earlier in March 2025, Boeing similarly won a competition to create a sixth-generation F-47 fighter within the framework of the USAF Next Generation Air Dominance program (NGAD; the NGAD programs of the US Air Force and the US Navy, despite the same name, are different). The appearance and characteristics of the selected Boeing Corporation F/A-XX project remain classified.
The F/A-XX program has been officially implemented since April 2012, when the U.S. Navy issued a request for information to the industry. The US Navy has indicated from the very beginning that, unlike the manned fighter to gain air superiority, which is planned to be created under the NGAD program of the US Air Force, the carrier-based F/A-XX is designed to be used as a strike fighter, which is primarily focused on attacking ground targets, and will also solve tasks secondarily. gaining air superiority. The F/A-XX aircraft should have supersonic cruising speed, and the range of the F/A-XX aircraft should be 25% longer than that of existing strike fighters in service.
Initially, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin corporations participated in the NGAD program, but in March 2025 it became known that Lockheed Martin was excluded from the program because its proposed project did not meet the necessary criteria for further participation in the competition. Thus, only Boeing and Northrop Grumman remained in the program. Until fiscal year 2024, most of the funding for the F/A-XX was hidden in the US Navy budget as part of the secret "black" Link Plumeria program.
A previously published image by Boeing of an advance design of its proposal for a promising sixth-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter aircraft as part of the US Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. The correlation with the actual current project is unknown (c) Boeing
