In the coming days, the United States Navy is expected to follow up on recent advancements in NGAD by awarding its sixth-gen carrier-based fighter.

Last Friday, the U.S. Air Force announced that Boeing had been awarded the contract to build its sixth-generation manned fighter, the F-47. The F-47 is the centerpiece of the systems being developed through the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.

In the coming days, the United States Navy will follow up by awarding its sixth-gen carrier-based fighter. The program, also designated as an unrelated NGAD, is commonly known as the F/A-XX. Earlier this month, it was also reported that Lockheed Martin had been dropped from the Navy’s competition, meaning it would come from Boeing or Northrop Grumman.

However, it is essential to note that neither sixth-generation aircraft is meant to replace the fifth-gen Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II operated by both services. The F-47 will eventually replace the aging Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor as the Air Force’s air superiority role, while the still-to-be-named F/A-XX will succeed Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

It is unclear how far along the Navy’s program is, but it is expected that the carrier-based fighter could enter service in the early 2030s. At the same time, the Super Hornets, including the final batch on track to be delivered by the end of 2027, could remain in operation well into the 2040s.

What We Know about the Upcoming Awards

Though the Air Force previously revealed some details about what to expect from the NGAD, the Navy has kept its cards closer to its chest.

It is known that the future fighter will be carrier-capable and feature the key attributes expected with a sixth-gen fighter, including stealth, supercruise, and integration with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) while having a more excellent range than the current Super Hornet.

As previously reported by Maya Carlin for The National Interest, “Over a decade ago, the Navy first outlined its intention of seeking out a replacement carrier-launched fighter jet to replace the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and Growler airframes. The new jet was conceptualized to fly alongside the F-35C Lightning II and UCLASS unmanned aircraft. Perhaps most significantly, the F/A-XX will be designed to operate in anti-access/area denial environments to more effectively thwart the People’s Republic of China’s growing arsenal of advanced weapons systems.”

It’s Certainly Worth the Award

The contract terms aren’t known, but the F/A-XX program is poised to be worth billions, possibly hundreds of billions, over the following decades, and that’s just with U.S. Navy sales. Potential foreign military sales (FMS) could make it worth even more.

According to a report from Reuters on Monday evening, “The Navy will choose one winner for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.” 

At the same time, “the new jet is expected to feature advanced stealth capabilities, improved range and endurance, and the ability to integrate with both uncrewed combat aircraft and the Navy’s carrier-based air defense systems.”

Should Boeing be awarded the contract, it would be a massive win for the aerospace firm, especially after its lackluster 2024, which included labor strikes, issues with its commercial 737 MAX airliner, and the Starliner space capsule. 

The report added, “Taking on two fighter jet programs may offer economies of scale if the company can make larger purchases of raw materials and share technology between the aircraft.”

As noted, the final F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will roll off the assembly line in just over two years so that the F-47 will keep Boeing’s production facility in operation. The Pentagon has asked whether Boeing can handle the production of both sixth-gen fighters.  

Northrop Grumman, which last year voluntarily exited the Air Force’s NGAD program, has been seen as a long shot, given that the previous Northrop fighter was the F-5/F-20 Tigershark, though Grumman did produce the famed F-14 Tomcat. 

Yet, the aerospace firm has shown its ability to keep the costs down for the B-21 Raider bomber now being developed for the U.S. Air Force, while that program has faced only a few delays to date.

Defence Industry Europe reported that Lockheed Martin’s elimination from the F/A-XX was reportedly “due to challenges” the company had in “meeting the Navy’s radar and carrier landing requirements.”

A final decision on the F/A-XX is expected in the coming days.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image: Wikimedia/ United States Air Force.

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