Boeing wins $20bn contract for US Navy’s next carrier fighter

The Pentagon has selected Boeing to build the US Navy’s next-generation carrier fighter in a contract valued at $20 billion. The F/A-XX aircraft will replace the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet from the 2030s, according to a Pentagon statement. The aircraft is being developed under the Next Generation Air Dominance programme.

Boeing won the competition against Northrop Grumman. Boeing’s defence division said it had invested in the ability to build multiple advanced combat-aircraft programmes at the same time. Pentagon undersecretary Michael Duffey described the aircraft as a major investment in national security and future air-combat capability.

Technical and programme details remain classified under US national security and export laws. The Navy’s chief of naval operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle, told a Senate panel in May that the new system needed to extend the reach, survivability and lethality of carrier aviation and work with unmanned systems. He warned that delays could affect air superiority, strike reach and the future of carrier-based operations in contested environments.

Boeing said construction was continuing at a secure manufacturing facility in St Louis, which it described as the largest of its kind in the United States. The award provides a significant boost to Boeing as it attempts to recover from a period of difficulties involving its commercial aircraft business. The company has faced reputational damage following two fatal 737 Max crashes and a 2024 Alaska Airlines flight in which a fuselage panel detached in mid-air.

Northrop Grumman said it had offered a highly survivable and digitally advanced sixth-generation fighter and was awaiting further information about the decision.