Boeing Wins Navy F/A-XX Fighter Jet Contract

The Pentagon awarded Boeing production of the Navy's classified stealth fighter, which is designed to replace the F/A-18 Hornet.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Military

Boeing Wins Navy F/A-XX Fighter Jet Contract

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The Pentagon has awarded Boeing the contract to produce the Navy's F/A-XX fighter jet, beating Northrop Grumman for the work. The program is a stealthy, still classified aircraft meant to replace the F/A-18 Hornet.

Why it matters

The award gives Boeing a second major stealth fighter program after it won the Air Force's F-47 in March, consolidating its position in future military aviation. The decision came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and deputy Steve Feinberg opposed the program, which Congress pushed forward with funding.

Congress provided hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the F/A-XX program moving despite Pentagon leadership's opposition. The total award value and delivery schedule for the aircraft were not disclosed in the available information.

The players

Boeing

Boeing is a major American aerospace company that builds commercial and military aircraft and previously won the Air Force's F-47 stealth fighter contract.

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is a major American defense contractor that lost the F/A-XX competition and is building the B-21 stealth bomber and the Sentinel ICBM.

Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth is the U.S. Secretary of Defense who opposed the F/A-XX program and argued the defense industrial base could not handle two overlapping new aircraft programs.

Steve Feinberg

Steve Feinberg is the Deputy Secretary of Defense who joined Hegseth in opposing the F/A-XX program on industrial base capacity grounds.

The details

The Navy's F/A-XX is a stealthy fighter still classified in many respects, intended to replace the aging F/A-18 Hornet. Hegseth and Feinberg argued that the U.S. defense industrial base could not support two overlapping new aircraft programs, but Congress forced the Pentagon to proceed by funding the work.

March 2026: Boeing won the Air Force's F-47 stealth fighter contract.
2025: Hegseth and Feinberg began opposing the F/A-XX program.
November 2, 2026: The Pentagon announced Boeing's F/A-XX award.

Roadmap

Boeing's March win of the Air Force's F-47 stealth fighter contract set a precedent for its role in next-generation combat aircraft. The F/A-XX award extends that position, giving the company parallel work on two separate stealth fighter programs for the Navy and Air Force.

For taxpayers, the F/A-XX decision means continued federal spending on new fighter aircraft despite Pentagon leadership's objections. The outcome also affects defense contractors and the communities that depend on their production work, including Boeing's St. Louis operations.

The takeaway

The F/A-XX award shows Congress can override Pentagon leadership on major weapons programs when funding is at stake. Readers following defense spending should watch how Boeing manages two parallel stealth fighter efforts.