The Navy has requested $74 million in Fiscal Year 2026 to complete the design of the F/A-XX, should the administration choose to proceed. According to a senior defence official, the decision rests with President Donald Trump, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The Navy’s F/A-XX program will maintain minimal development funding to preserve the ability to leverage F-47 work, while preventing over subscription of [a] qualified defense industrial base,” a senior military official said. The funding approach aims to keep the F/A-XX as a viable future option while focusing resources elsewhere.
The Department of Defense has prioritised the F-47, the Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter, which will be built by Boeing following an announcement by Trump and Hegseth in March. Officials said the F-47 will lead the way for sixth-generation capabilities across the armed forces.
“We did make a strategic decision to go all in on F-47 with a $3.4 billion request for that program due to our belief that the industrial base can only handle going fast on one program at this time and the presidential priority to go all in on F-47 and get that program right, while maintaining the option for F/A-XX in the future,” the senior defence official explained. The move reflects a calculated effort to manage industry capacity and ensure successful development.
When asked whether a Navy variant of the F-47, similar to the F-35 model, is under consideration, the official said all possibilities remain open. “At this time, I would say pretty much everything is under consideration to get the [tactical air] capability that our warfighters need as quickly as possible,” the official added.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the F/A-XX, the Pentagon remains committed to advancing sixth-generation aircraft. “How that’s achieved right now, the F-47 is on path to be the leading agent of that. But sixth-gen is where we want to go,” a senior military official said.
“You interpret it as the F-47 is our priority and that we’re looking at the industrial base’s capacity and how that program goes moving forward,” the official concluded. As is typical with new administrations, the Department of Defense has not released a five-year defence outlook alongside the 2026 budget.
