Boeing F/A-XX Concept

On March 21, 2025, it was announced that Boeing was the winner of the U.S. Air Forces's  Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, now officially designated the F-47. Tne F-47 is the USAF's 6th generation fighter designed to counter near peer adversaries, especially China. It was expected by many that the announcement of the winner of the U.S. Navy's own 6th generation fighter program, the F/A-XX, would follow in short order. This was expected as China had just test flown two new 6th generation fighters on December 26, 2024. These two new Chinese fighters were the Chengdu J-36 and the Shenyang J-50. Reuters even published an article on March 25, 2025 saying that the announcement was coming soon according to a source. Many aviation enthusists and journalists were disappointed when the expected announcement never came.

While Congress provided $500 million for fast tracking the F/A-XX program, defense leaders believe  "the industrial bases can only handle going fast on one program at this ime" and the F-47 is a "presidential priority".  The idea is to "go all-in on the F-47 and get that program right, while maintaining the option for F/A-XX in the future".  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had sought to have the $500 million for the F/A-XX program transferred to the F-47 program. The FY2026 budget only allocates just $74 million to the F/A-XX program to finish the design and "preserve the ability to leverage F-47 work," but the Pentagon is worried that there aren't enough "qualified industrial base engineers" available to conduct both programs simultaneously. Prior to the recent release of the FY2026 budget  earlier this month, Boeing Defense and Space CEO Steve Parker very publically pushed back on the idea that the U.S. industrial base was not capable of working on the F-47 and F/A-XX at the same time.

It is the opinion of this writer that any delay in the F/A-XX fighter program is a huge mistake. The U.S. Navy needs the F/A-XX fighter now, not three years from now as some  have stated it could be delayed. In fact, I would argue that the U.S. Navy needs the F/A-XX more than the U.S. Air Force needs the F-47. The U.S. Navy has a long history of getting short changed on advanced fighters, particuarly when it comes to joint programs. Past failures include:

• F-111B Aardvark - This was the U.S. Navy's version of the joint USAF/USN F-111 Aardvark program in the 1960's. It was a compromise at best, as is most joint service aircraft. USAF and USN fighter design requirements are quite different and these joint programs never result in an aircraft optimal to all branches involved. The USN cancelled the F-111B after determining that it was too big and too heavy for carrier operations and as well as not being optimal for fleet air defense. The U.S. Navy eventually developed their own carrier basd interceptor in the 1970's, which resulted in the famous Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
• NATF - The Naval Advanced Tactical Figher (NATF) was a proposed naval variant of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). Both ATF competitors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman put forth designs for this program. Lockheed Martin's design was based on its YF-22 Lightning II prototype and was commonly referred to as the  NATF-22. Northrop Grumman's design was based on their YF-23 Black Widow II prototype and was commonly referred to as the NATF-23 Sea Widow. The NATF was intended as a stealthy replacement for the venerable Grumman F-14 Tomcat. However, with the end of the Cold War, the NATF program fell victim to  USN concerns about escalating costs. The program was cancelled in 1991.
• A/F-117X Sea Hawk - The Lockheed A/F-117X Sea Hawk was a proposed variant of the world renowned F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter. Fresh off the F-117's overwhelming success in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Lockheed sought to capitalize on its sucess in recent combat by proposing a heavily modified version for the USN. It was ultimately rejected on cost grounds,
• F-35C Lightning II - The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II was the ultimate compromise design. It needed to produce a Conventional Take-Off & Landing (CTOL) fighter for the USAF, a Short Take-Off & Vertical Landing (STOVL) version for the USMC, and an aircraft carrier based Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) version for the USN. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which the F-35 was developed, under was itself an amalgum of several earlier programs including the Joint  Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) and Common Affordable Light Fighter (CALF) programs for the USAF, the Advanced Short Take-Off/ Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) program for the USMC and the Attack/Fighter-Experimental (A/F-X) program for the USN. The F-35C was the last version of the F-35 to be developed as it required the most modfications of the base design. It was only introduced into fleet service in 2019. The F-35 was never designed as a true interceptor like the F-14 Tomcat. It is really a multirole strike fighter. The F-35C's service onboard carriers has been a mixed bag to date. The fighter's stealth coatings have struggled with the salty ocean environment and its range was less than the U.S. Navy desired for operations in the Indo-Pacific region. At least the U.S. Navy finally got its first stealth aircraft, 30 years after first trying with the Attack Experimental (AX) program, which was  designed to replace the venerable Grumman A-6 Intruder attack aircraft. The AX program resulted in the utter failure that was the McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12A Avenger II.

During this time, the U.S. Navy's 4th generation Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which first enetered service in 1995, have been bearing the brunt of carrier  duties. The Super Hornets are quickly wearing out due to high operational tempos during the War on Terror in the 2000's and 2010's.  The Super Hornet is in dire need of replacement! The reasons it needs to be replaced are:

• Rapidly aging airframes approaching the end of their life cycle.
• Lack of stealth and other advanced 5th & 6th generation technologies.
• Lack of range needed for operations in the Indo-Pacific Theater.
• Advanced 5th & 6th generation rivals currently being deployed or developed by near peer rivals.

The U.S. Navy desperately needs its own 6th generation fighter that has the stealth, advanced features and longer range that that the U.S. Navy requires to counter near peer threats, especially China, in the 2030's and beyond. Don't delay, the U.S. Navy needs the F/A-XX fighter now!

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