Navy F/A-XX Stealth Fighter Selection Imminent: Reports
According reports, the Navy's F/A-XX fighter program is about to move forward, but we've heard this before, although this time may very well be different.
Thomas Newdick
Published Oct 7, 2025 4:22 PM EDT
The U.S. Department of Defense may finally be ready to choose which company will develop and build the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter. A report from Reuters today states that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally gave the green light for the selection last Friday. However, this is not the first time that there have been reports that this decision was imminent, as you can read about here.
Northrop Grumman
The U.S. Department of Defense may finally be ready to choose which company will develop and build the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter. A report from Reuters today states that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally gave the green light for the selection last Friday. However, this is not the first time that there have been reports that this decision was imminent, as you can read about here, but these came to nothing.
The Reuters report publishes details provided by “a U.S. official and two people familiar with the decision.” Similar comments provided to Breaking Defense were attributed to “two sources.” The upshot is that the Pentagon could choose its preferred F/A-XX design this week. The program has long been even more secretive than the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance jet, which emerged earlier this year as the Boeing F-47. What is clear, however, is that the F/A-XX decision is now months later than planned.
Also interesting is the timing of this apparent move, coming so soon after President Donald Trump’s visit to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush over the weekend. He went aboard the carrier as the Navy celebrated its 250th anniversary and witnessed a firepower demonstration. While aboard the warship, Trump also met with senior Navy officials and saw the hardware of the current carrier air wing at close quarters — including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and E/A-18 Growlers that the F/A-XX will eventually replace.
https://www.twz.com/air/navy-f-a-xx-stealth-fighter-selection-imminent-reports
