The Pentagon has selected the company expected to build the U.S. Navy’s next generation stealth fighter, according to two people briefed on the decision.
An official announcement could arrive within weeks or possibly sooner, bringing a long delayed competition closer to the finish line.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman are competing for the prized contract.
Based on comparable military aviation programs, the effort could ultimately be worth tens of billions of dollars across development, production, upgrades, and long term support.
The aircraft is currently designated F/A-XX, although the program has not yet received a formal operational name.
It is expected to become the centerpiece of the Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems.
For years, the program has faced delays, budget fights, and persistent questions about whether the military aviation industry can handle another advanced fighter effort.
Some Pentagon officials had pushed to postpone the program by as much as three years because of concerns involving engineering talent and supply chain capacity.
Congress rejected that slow roll and moved to protect the program financially. Lawmakers provided $750 million for F/A-XX through the massive tax cut and spending legislation signed into law by President Trump in 2025.
Congress also approved an additional $1.4 billion for fiscal 2026. That funding reflects growing concern that more bureaucratic hesitation could leave Navy carrier air wings dangerously behind the threat during the next decade.
China is rapidly introducing more advanced combat aircraft, including designs Beijing portrays as sixth generation fighters.
Whether every Chinese claim survives contact with reality is another question, but the pace of Beijing’s military modernization cannot be dismissed.
A U.S. official warned that further delays could leave the Navy without a modern carrier capable fighter for operations in the 2030s and beyond.
Such a gap could weaken America’s ability to project power in contested regions where enemy aircraft, missiles, sensors, and air defenses are increasingly sophisticated.
The Pentagon offered little detail about the decision or its timing. A spokesperson said, “We continue work to award the F/A-XX contract in the near future. There is no additional information at this time.”
The new jet is intended to replace the Navy’s aging fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which entered service after being developed during the 1990s.
Those aircraft have served across decades of combat operations, but they were not designed for the emerging threat environment expected in the western Pacific and other heavily defended regions.
F/A XX is expected to deliver advanced stealth, greater range, and improved endurance.
Those capabilities are particularly important for aircraft carriers that may need to operate farther from hostile coastlines because of long range missiles and increasingly dense enemy surveillance networks.
The fighter is also expected to work alongside uncrewed combat aircraft. That integration could allow a crewed fighter to coordinate additional platforms carrying sensors, weapons, electronic warfare systems, or other mission equipment.
The broader family of systems concept will connect the aircraft with the Navy’s carrier based air defense architecture.
Rather than operating as a lone platform, the fighter is supposed to function as part of a larger network sharing targeting information and responding to threats across the battlespace.
The first production aircraft are expected to enter service during the 2030s.
Meanwhile, the Navy plans to keep Super Hornets flying into the 2040s, which means the older fleet will remain essential while the new aircraft moves through testing and production.
Selecting either Boeing or Northrop Grumman would shape the nation’s combat aircraft industrial base for decades.
The decision will also determine which company receives one of the most strategically important and financially valuable military aviation programs now moving through the Pentagon.
After years of funding disputes and attempted delays, the Navy appears close to getting a clear path forward.
With China pressing ahead and carrier aviation facing a demanding future, Washington has little room left for another round of bureaucratic drifting.
