Navy Chooses Boeing to Build Next-Generation Jet Fighter

The Navy chose Boeing BA 1.78%increase; up pointing triangle to build its next-generation jet fighter, the latest in a run of contract wins at the aerospace giant’s military unit.

The deal, worth more than $20 billion, tasks Boeing with building the next-generation jets that will eventually replace the carrier-launched F/A-18 Super Hornet in the 2030s, the Navy said. Boeing beat Northrop Grumman NOC -0.24%decrease; down pointing triangle, its only rival in the competition after Lockheed Martin LMT -1.14%decrease; down pointing triangle dropped out of the running last year.

The jet, which the Navy calls F/A-XX will “deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” Michael P. Duffey, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in a statement.

The deal makes Boeing the sole provider of sixth-generation tactical fighters for both the Navy and Air Force. Sixth-generation aircraft will likely include more advanced stealth features than their fifth-generation predecessors, sensors that use artificial intelligence and be armed with lasers or hypersonic weapons, according to the Congressional Research Service. They will also likely have more advanced engines and operate alongside drones.

Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35 stealth fighter, which is flown by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, is the only maker of fifth-generation jet fighters for the U.S. military.

Boeing last year won a major award to build the next fleet of Air Force jet fighters, dubbed the F-47. The deal was announced by President Trump in the Oval Office alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and then-Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Allvin.

The decision could stretch the company’s already busy production lines. Boeing has struggled to build drones that could refuel other aircraft. The drone was supposed to fly for the first time in 2021, but didn’t have its first flight until April, according to a Pentagon assessment. It is not expected to begin operations until 2029, about 4½ years later than planned.

Boeing booked more than $5 billion of losses on its biggest defense contracts in 2024 and posted another $800 million loss in 2025. The losses include more than $2.7 billion in charges for its KC-46, a refueling tanker for the Air Force.

Executives have vowed to steer clear of fixed-price development contracts that risk burdening the company with especially steep costs. Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg earlier this month said the space and defense unit had improved dramatically but still had issues to address.

Northrop Grumman said in a statement that it “offered a highly survivable, digitally advanced sixth-generation fighter to the U.S. Navy. We look forward to receiving additional information about their selection.”