$20 Billion Contract: Boeing to Develop Another State-of-the-Art Fighter Jet for the Pentagon

Boeing has been awarded a contract worth more than $20 billion to develop the next-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter for the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Department of Defense announced the signing of the relevant agreements. This marks Boeing’s second major victory in a row in the competition to produce the latest—sixth-generation—aircraft, Reuters notes. These fighters are expected to feature technologies that make them invisible to radar; they will replace the F-22 and F-35 in the mid-2030s.

Boeing shares jumped nearly 3% during trading on September 30, but then gave up those gains and, at the time of publication, are trading at roughly the previous closing price.

In the competition for a contract to develop prototype models of the F/A-XX aircraft, Boeing has edged out its competitor, Northrop Grumman, Reuters notes. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense, the contract calls for the procurement of several prototype aircraft for ground testing, airworthiness testing, systems testing, and weapons integration testing. The total cost of the program could eventually rise to hundreds of billions of dollars as production expands and foreign customers potentially come on board, Reuters reports.

The Pentagon expects the F/A-XX to gradually replace the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters currently in service with the U.S. Navy. The new aircraft will be part of the Next Generation Air Dominance program (one of whose goals is to develop “a suite of technologies ensuring [U.S.] air superiority ”) and is expected to feature advanced stealth technology to reduce radar detectability, increased range and endurance, as well as the ability to interoperate with unmanned combat aircraft and ship-based air defense systems, according to Reuters.

Boeing stated that the F/A-XX will be equipped with an open avionics architecture and advanced control systems, and will also feature enhanced operational capabilities. The contract will provide significant support for the company’s plant in St. Louis, where Boeing is winding down production of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, Reuters notes. The company has invested “in new manufacturing capabilities suitable for producing next-generation products,” said Steve Parker, president of Boeing Defense.

The first production F/A-XXs are expected in the 2030s, while the Super Hornets, which have been in service since the 1990s, are expected to remain in service until the 2040s.

Boeing was considered one of the leading contenders for this contract thanks to its many years of experience manufacturing carrier-based fighter jets for the U.S. Navy, according to Reuters. In March 2025, the company also received a contract to develop the F-47—a new sixth-generation stealth fighter for the U.S. Air Force. “We don’t yet know how much of the F-47’s DNA is in the F/A-XX. Are they being developed together or separately?” Reuters quotes Jeremy Gertler, an aerospace industry expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as saying.

Last year, the Pentagon attempted to postpone the award of the F/A-XX contract due to concerns that the country’s defense industry lacked sufficient engineering capacity to develop two sixth-generation fighters simultaneously, the agency reports. However, Congress secured continued funding for the program, allocating $750 million in 2025 and another $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2026, Reuters reports.

The Navy's decision to accelerate its program to develop new fighter jets is also influenced by the development of China's military aviation. Bloomberg notes that China is rapidly expanding its fleet of modern combat aircraft, including models that Beijing refers to as sixth-generation fighter jets.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor