The Navy's futuristic F/A-XX ghosted us again
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August came and went, and still no contract for the U.S. Navy's futuristic fighter, F/A-XX, was announced.
Why it matters: The date keeps slipping — inspiring memes, leaving defense industry giants in public limbo, pressuring the service's existing fleet and reminding military watchers of the Trump administration's warplane priority.
Driving the news: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle in April told reporters the F/A-XX builder would be selected in August. It's now Sept. 2.
- A CNO spokesperson told Axios on Tuesday there was no "additional information to provide on the F/A-XX program or its timing at this point."
- Aviation Week on Aug. 22 reported that the Navy was "still hopeful an announcement will be made," but noted that it was "out of the service's hands."
State of play: Boeing and Northrop Grumman, the sixth- and fourth-largest defense contractors in the world, have been quietly competing for the contract. (Lockheed Martin, the world's largest, exited a while ago.)
- F/A-XX is meant to succeed the Super Hornet, long relied upon and recently employed across the Middle East.
- Boeing and Northrop have expressed to Axios confidence in their designs and setups. Both companies referred inquiries this week to the Navy.
Between the lines: Boeing previously won the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance fighter competition and is building the sixth-generation F-47.
- Trump 2.0 has elevated that aircraft — named in part for the 47th president — and has maintained that industry can't handle both endeavors at the same time.
Yes, but: Steve Parker, the Boeing Defense, Space and Security chief executive, this summer pushed back on that narrative ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.
- "When we bid what is now the F-47 program and the F/A-XX program, we bid them knowing we had to be able to execute them both," he told reporters in London.
- "We're excited for the decision; we'll see which way it goes," he added. "Not sure the time frame, but we'll be ready."
Follow the money: The White House's $1.5 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal 2027 included $140 million for F/A-XX.
