Navy Awards Boeing More Than $20 Billion F/A-XX Development Contract

The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a contract for the sixth-generation F/A-XX strike fighter under the Next Generation Air Dominance program, with the Department of War valuing the full-scale development phase at more than $20 billion, according to separate announcements from the Department of War and Boeing on September 29, 2026.

The department stated the contract procures multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing. Boeing, in a release datelined St. Louis, described the award as a multi-billion-dollar contract under which it will design, build and deliver the Navy’s 6th-generation fighter.

Boeing stated the F/A-XX is intended to replace the service’s fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets, and said the fighter will revolutionize advancements in open mission systems architecture, advanced mission systems and operational reach and capacity. The Navy also released an artist’s rendering of the Boeing F/A-XX, distributed through NAVAIR public release SPR-2026-0601, the company noted.

The department stated the F/A-XX will provide advanced carrier-based power projection that extends the range of what it called the most agile and survivable airfields: U.S. Navy carriers. It said the aircraft will be interoperable with manned and unmanned platforms such as Collaborative Combat Aircraft and will increase the capability of every CCA it teams with. Following the contract award, Boeing will deliver the platform to augment and eventually replace legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s, operating alongside the F-35C, the department stated.

Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, said the F/A-XX is “a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength” and described the platform as a crucial, non-negotiable investment in America’s national security and long-term air combat capabilities. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said the achievement marks a new era for the U.S. Navy, called the sixth-generation fighter a generational leap in air superiority, and said the service is excited to partner with Boeing.

“It’s an honor to be selected to produce the Navy’s first sixth-generation platform,” said Steve Parker, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, adding that the company’s team is ready to execute the program.

The contract is Boeing’s second selection for 6th-generation fighter work, following the award of the U.S. Air Force’s F-47 program in 2025, Boeing stated. Parker said delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always the company’s plan and that it invested accordingly, adding that Boeing is ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs.

Construction continues on Boeing’s secure manufacturing facility in St. Louis, which the company described as the largest in the U.S. and as part of what it calls the world’s most advanced, all-digital aerospace design and manufacturing system. Parker said facility investment is one part of the story and that Boeing is also investing in technology and people.

Boeing stated that the technical and programmatic details of F/A-XX remain classified under U.S. national security and export laws.

A Second Sixth-Generation Fighter Program

On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Air Force announced Boeing had been awarded a contract to design, build and deliver its Next Generation Air Dominance fighter platform; Boeing’s F/A-XX announcement refers to that 2025 award as the F-47 program. In its announcement of that award, Boeing described the NGAD platform as the central node in an NGAD Family of Systems and said it would bring leap-ahead capability in range, survivability, lethality and adaptability.

Parker, then interim president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said at the time that Boeing had made the most significant investment in the history of its defense business in preparation for that mission. The 2025 release cited the company’s combat-aircraft lineage, including the P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and EA-18G Growler, and stated that the NGAD selection built on that fighter legacy.

Shutdown Planning for the Super Hornet Line

The department’s daily contract announcements for September 29, 2026, also included a $16,667,607 firm-fixed-price order to Boeing in St. Louis for planning, analysis, engineering, and program management support for the shutdown of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler production lines. The effort includes inventorying and assessing government-owned production equipment and tooling, developing retention, storage, and disposition recommendations, and delivering a master property inventory and disposition plan.

Work under that order will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (60%); El Segundo, California (37%); and Bethpage, New York (3%), and is expected to be completed in November 2030. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $16,667,607 will be obligated at the time of award. The order was placed against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement and was not competitively procured, with Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, as the contracting activity.