Overview
- The Navy could announce the winner this week, according to multiple reports, though officials note last‑minute snags have delayed past steps.
- Boeing and Northrop Grumman remain in contention after Lockheed Martin was eliminated earlier in the competition.
- The F/A-XX is slated to replace F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in the 2030s with greater stealth, longer range and teaming with uncrewed aircraft as part of the Navy’s NGAD family.
- Congress restored funding after a dispute with the Pentagon over pacing, and lawmakers also set aside additional fiscal 2026 money to keep the program moving.
- Defense officials weighed industrial capacity risks, citing Boeing’s simultaneous Air Force F-47 work and Northrop’s Sentinel ICBM pressures, while program quantities, value and timelines remain classified.