F/A-XX

Navy aviation forces await the downselect for the sixth-generation fighter, citing the need for future air superiority and sea control.

A new rendering of Boeing’s proposed F/A-XX design provided to Aviation Week indicates the company may be incorporating parts of its design for the U.S. Air Force’s F-47.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, the nominee to be the U.S. Navy's next Chief of Naval Operations, has warned against not proceeding with the F/A-XX fighter program.

Editors gather after GASCC on the eve of the Royal International Air Tattoo to discuss the latest developments in air power as U.S. budget season impacts programs.

Forcing the U.S. Navy to move forward on the F/A-XX program would slow the U.S. Air Force F-47 program, the Trump administration argues.

HASC passed its fiscal 2026 defense policy bill, looking to block some key moves in the DOD proposal and raising the fleet size of USAF mobility aircraft.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) looks to add $30 billion to the Pentagon’s budget, while blocking some aircraft retirements and increasing F-35As.

Boeing on July 1 announced it is making Stephen Parker its permanent head of Defense Space & Security.

The Pentagon’s minimal budget request for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation fighter will keep the program limping along as it awaits a decision on its future.

The late budget rollout, coupled with a reliance on GOP-led reconciliation, has caused consternation in a typically bipartisan budget process.

With Navy acquisition programs already in a “mess,” the Pentagon is skeptical about adding a second sixth-generation fighter onto a strained defense industry.

Boeing's Steve Parker defended U.S. industry’s ability to launch development of a second sixth-generation fighter at Paris Air Show, contradicting concerns by the Navy’s leader.

The Pentagon’s expected low funding request for the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX will bankroll designs of the fighter aircraft to completion.

A sixth-generation fighter is on hold because the U.S. Navy’s top civilian official lost confidence in the defense industry’s ability to take on a new program.

Boeing is hopeful the U.S. Navy will soon proceed with a contract award for its F/A-XX fighter program.

The House of Representatives on May 22 barely passed President Donald Trump’s extensive spending package, which includes a $150 billion plus-up in DOD spending.

Republican lawmakers want to add money to both the F-47 and the U.S. Navy’s yet-to-be-selected next fighter.

The U.S. Navy appears poised to pick either Boeing or Northrop Grumman to develop its next-generation combat aircraft, the F/A-XX. Listen in as Aviation Week editors discuss what's at stake.

The industry continues to wonder about the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter, which has been the next major contract expected to drop after the U.S. Air Force made it pick last month.

The U.S. Navy is targeting a 25% increase in the operational range of its future F/A-XX strike fighter compared to its existing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet.

USAF and Navy leaders have pitched their future fighter plans to Trump, as the Pentagon and the administration prepare to decide how to fund procurement.

Service Secretary Frank Kendall in July 2024 paused the development of the Next Generation Air Dominance’s penetrating counter air fighter.

Indecision clouds the outlook for the Navy’s budget and the Air Force’s requirements for new crewed and autonomous tactical fighters.

The Aviation Week Intelligence Network is tracking $193 billion in open opportunities for military aircraft over the next decade.