Navy's F/A-XX winner expected in August

Colin Demarest

Blurry fighter jet speeds off a dark carrier deck toward the sea while two people stand at the edge watching. A cloudy sky and calm ocean stretch to the horizon. — An F/A-18E Super Hornet lands on the USS Nimitz on April 10. Photo: Julian Jaime/DVIDS

The builder of the U.S. Navy's futuristic fighter, known as F/A-XX, will be selected in August, according to the service's top uniformed official.

Why it matters: The long-awaited decision would cap a secretive competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and also signal some sort of consensus between the White House, Pentagon and Hill.

Driving the news: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle discussed the timeline on Monday with reporters at the Sea-Air-Space conference in Maryland.

The need for F/A-XX, he said, is "clearly there."
"It ties to our MQ-25, for stealth refueling. It ties to our reach. It ties to the work we're doing making the carrier something that remains very effective into the future, based on the range it can operate safely."
USNI News first reported on the remarks.

State of play: The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to shelve F/A-XX in favor of the Air Force's new F-47 fighter, citing industrial strain.

"We've got a lot of airframes out there. We've got an F-35 program. We've got an F-47 program. We're still building the F-18. P-8s. C-130s. We've got a lot of airplanes being built," Caudle said.

"The Air Force has a lot of demand on the system, and the Navy has a lot of demand," he added. "There was a 'check twice, cut once' mentality on this decision."

Follow the money: The administration's $1.5 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal 2027 included $140 million for the Navy warplane, which will succeed the Super Hornet.

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Navy's F/A-XX winner expected in August

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