Key Points and Summary – Delaying the US Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter program to prioritize the Air Force’s F-47 would be a strategic mistake, ceding ground to China and undermining American sea power.
-The US aerospace industrial base is robust enough to produce both next-generation fighters simultaneously, a move that would strengthen domestic manufacturing and mirror the successful parallel programs of the 1970s (F-14, F-15, F-16).
F/A-XX U.S. Navy Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-The Navy urgently needs the F/A-XX to replace its aging F/A-18s and maintain air superiority in the Indo-Pacific.
-Accelerating, not delaying, the program is critical to President Trump’s peace-through-strength agenda.
Don’t Hold Back the F/A-XX Fighter for the Navy
Unrivaled air superiority is a vital part of American military power. In many cases, it is inseparable from victory in a conflict.
Our adversaries know this fact, which is why developing and fielding sixth-generation aircraft has become both a symbolic and a tangible measure of modern military power.
Earlier this year, President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth announced the award of the F-47 program to Boeing.
This next-generation fighter will provide exceptional new capabilities for our Air Force pilots. Reports suggest that the Pentagon is considering delaying the Navy’s next gen fighter, known as the F/A-XX, to prioritize the F-47 program.
F-47 Fighter from U.S. Air Force. Image Credit USAF.
This would be a mistake. We need them both. Fortunately, America’s aerospace industrial base is capable of manufacturing two fighter jets simultaneously. Doing so is critical to advancing President Trump’s peace-through-strength national security agenda.
According to reports, concerns are emerging that developing two new advanced jets simultaneously would overwhelm the industrial base. In truth, unlike other industrial sectors, America’s aerospace industry is thriving, full of energy, ingenuity, innovation, and readiness.
The aerospace sector is well-positioned today to deliver the new technology our warfighters need to execute President Trump‘s national security strategy. The Navy’s 6th-generation fighter is particularly well aligned with the President’s goals. President Trump has championed rebuilding America’s industrial power and restoring deterrence, especially against China in the Pacific. The F/A-XX is critical to both endeavors.
What Makes the F/A-XX So Vital
Although not as publicized as the Air Force’s program, the F/A-XX is an equally important platform, especially given that the Navy lacks fifth-generation F-22s and many F-35s, and is heavily dependent on aging F/A-18s.
Adding the F/A-XX to our carrier air wings will restore air superiority and strike range, thus ensuring the continued viability and effectiveness of our carrier fleet. The capabilities of our aircraft carriers and their air wings make our military ready to deter or fight the next skirmish, world war, or anything in between. It also provides the President with more options to handle crises abroad.
It is no surprise that China is developing its own sixth-generation naval jet fighters, such as the J-36, which are specifically designed to counter current American technology. China’s most advanced fighters would undoubtedly play a leading role in any Pacific conflict.
J-36 Fighter from X Screenshot. Image Credit: X Screenshot.
With tensions escalating and our relative military power gap narrowing, failure to acquire the U.S. Navy’s advanced fighter promptly would be devastating.
Prior to reporting that F/A-XX was being delayed, it appeared the program was on the verge of being awarded to either Boeing or Northrop Grumman. Regardless of who wins the contract, it will provide thousands of engineering and manufacturing jobs in America. Once in production, thousands of workers across traditional suppliers, smaller suppliers, start-ups, and local shops across the nation would support the program.
If Northrop Grumman wins, it would keep two cutting-edge fighter primes in play, leveraging a robust ramp of advanced manufacturing and technology investments in recent years, to ensure that U.S. aircraft makers are building the necessary industrial muscle to scale production when we need it most.
Historically, the American military aircraft industrial base, comprising hundreds of thousands of workers across thousands of companies, has consistently demonstrated the capability to support multiple simultaneous aircraft programs. For example, the F-14, F-15, and F-16 aircraft were all introduced in the 1970s. Instead of overwhelming the industrial base, these programs helped invigorate and strengthen our supply chain, making it more resilient.
Moving forward with both next-generation air dominance programs is good for the American industrial base, and delaying either program will have negative impacts on an industry that is staffed and ready to execute today.
Delaying the F/A-XX Would Be a Big Mistake
Delaying the Navy’s next-generation fighter program is also at odds with the needs assessments by both senior military leaders and Congress. As Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific, recently testified, China is aggressively fielding capabilities designed to deny the U.S. air superiority, and “ceding air superiority is not an option if we intend to maintain a capability against our adversaries and the ability to support our allies.”
Recognizing the urgency of modernizing the Navy’s carrier-based aircraft, Congress has added hundreds of millions of dollars in President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to accelerate the F/A-XX program.
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Accelerating the program – not delaying it – is precisely what is needed to deliver on President Trump’s national security agenda, stay ahead of the Chinese threat, and get the gears of America’s great aerospace industrial base turning.
American airpower is too critical to jeopardize. Both the Air Force and the Navy require new fighters to maintain American air dominance.
About the Author: Robert C. O’Brien, Former Trump National Security Advisor
Robert C. O’Brien is the co-founder and chairman of American Global Strategies LLC. He was the 27th United States National Security Advisor from 2019-2021. He has been appointed to serve on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) in President Trump’s second term. In President Trump’s first term, O’Brien served as the President’s principal advisor on all aspects of American foreign policy and national security affairs. O’Brien brought a renewed focus to defense and industrial base issues to the NSC. A long-time advocate of a sea power and a 355 ship Navy, O’Brien visited leading shipyards during his tenure. He also spent time at defense plants and with our troops at bases around the world.
Commentar
June 27, 2025 at 11:39 am
The F/A-XX issa piece of extra-expensive crap that will surely guarantee DoD’s future budgets to exceed 1.2 trillion yearly, but somehow, china is getting the blame.
China, on the other hand, is doing great on the great trail to the great future, tossing out two new flying-cardboard fighters (j36 & j50) to eager spectators, to entice washington to spend itself or its way to oblivion.
US heading for the poor house.
The world could still avoid ww3. Hopes thissa coming true.
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JingleBells
June 27, 2025 at 2:32 pm
This never never ending conundrum about 6th-gen fighter choices for the US war machine is a manifestation of the ills associated with the control of all national affairs by the deep state.
What the pheck’s the deep state.
The deep state, or shadow agency, or shadow govt, is a vast collection of current American military and intelligence bigshots with covert or secret ties to US congress, US think tanks, US arms manufacturers, wall street moguls, hedge funds, media groups, and US diplomats and US spies deployed overseas.
It’s like a super duper giant octopus, with its main body in the US, and tentacles or arms reaching to virtually all corners of the globe.
NATURALLY, such a setup or conglomeration, will always require tons and tons of money to operate, so the current conundrum about rising out of control costs for all new military weapons.
F/A-XX fighters, subs, missiles, frigates, rifles, even toilet seats are all witnessing spiralling costs and increased expenses.
After all, that explains why US gdp figures are always racing ahead like the dow index, even though growth is hardly increasing, even actually now shrinking.
It all boils down to the amount of money being shoveled here and there, and everywhere, the more furiously the shoveling is, the higher are the numbers.
Deep state. The bane of common sense and human logic.
One-World-Order
June 27, 2025 at 4:13 pm
Setting funds aside for a spanking new fighter for USN is like buying a spare tyre for your today’s two-wheeled motorised transport.
NOT NEEDED.
Aircraft carriers won’t last more than two days in the coming ww3. Why.
The coming ww3 will be fought with nuclear weapons. Aircraft carriers will serve as big fat sitting ducks in the water.
The aircraft on board will quickly turn into scrap. Within 48 hours.
Only aircraft and warplanes able to fly distances greater than 4,000 km are fit for combat use in ww3.
F/A-XX ? Pfft.
doyle
June 27, 2025 at 6:11 pm
China, on friday june 27 2025, in the morning (now being late evening), totally BETRAYED global peace and humanity by reaching an agreement with US on lifting exports of rare earths to washington which are essential for producing various hi-tech US weaponry.
China is truly a traitor. It began restricting rare earth exports to US in april due solely to increased trade tariffs imposed by a rage-engulfed trump. Nothing else.
But today, trump has promised to cancel certain tariffs and trade-related restrictions on china, and china has responded by ‘oiling’ the US military machine. With rare earths.
China, if it was truly motivated by high morals, could have told washington, “Pheck off, NO RARE EARTHS until you divide ukraine into two. One for the nazis, one for non-nazis.”
It could even have demanded that the daily slaughter in gaza be stopped, or the dangerous long-range missiles in luzon be removed.
But china did NOTHING good, except ready to supply more rare earths to US in exchange for better trade deals. Today.
How STUPID, and how IMMORAL.
China, the betrayer, the JUDAS against world peace and world security.
TO HELL WITH CHINA !!! !!!
Nick
June 30, 2025 at 8:34 am
A giant reckoning of US wealth and power with a crashing (that is, value losing) dollar is coming. 2 gen 6 fighter programs, doubling up on USN production, rebuild of land based missile silos, will be pipe dreams if no one wants to finance our deficits.
Tim
June 30, 2025 at 11:09 am
It’s always the same blatant hypocrisy from the Left.
They decry the size of our defense budget (“it’s bigger than the combined defense budgets of the ten next largest in the world!), while at the same time piously braying about our “need to honor our commitments to our allies!”.
You can’t have it both ways; it’s simple logic.
If we are to defend dozens of nations, thousands of miles from our shores, as well as defend the continent-sized United States, fair enough. But it takes LOTS OF MONEY.
If you want to shrink the defense budget, again, fair enough. But how can we defend Bulgaria and Denmark and Japan and Australia with a small military force?
Geof
June 30, 2025 at 11:27 am
We can hope the F-57 and FA/XX aren’t repeats of the F-35 disaster.
RTColorado
June 30, 2025 at 11:55 am
It is understandable that there are only so many dollars available for new projects. As much as we would all like to see every new project go forward, we have to get selective about what gets funded. The F/A-XX program shouldn’t be shelved completely even if it can’t be funded completely. The Navy is sorely in need of a 6th generation fighter/attack aircraft. The F-35B is a fine warbird but is limited in its “load out”, so a new addition is needed. Hopefully, much of the design work on the F-47 can be used for the F/A-XX.
SSQ-II 1000 Ship Navy 2018
June 30, 2025 at 4:31 pm
Whether or not the American military aircraft industry can handle developing two cutting edge fighters is not a big concern, it can but that’s not too important.
Maintaining control over development, production, and support costs are the critical factors in how successful the whole enterprise will be. If there is at least a basic motivation for the three oligopolistic primes to deliver value, holding back on the least important development provides motivation. The attainment of greater economic value can then be pushed down to the F/A-XX in whatever form it takes.
As generally conceded, the F/A-XX would be powered by a pair of improved F414, the stealthy blended fuselage providing a relatively modest improvement in range to around 700nm. IMHO, this is inadequate for a SCS conflict.
Multiple options with a nominal 1000nm range would be a tri-stream jet powered F-35D/F-51D XL type, a BWB drone attack bomber A-36E/A-52E, a F-47N which could absorb a few thousand pounds of aircraft carrier required strengthening and sea spray tolerance, even tri-stream F414’s in a F-35F sized aircraft. The size of the air groups will shrink with the inclusion of small combat jet sized autonomous drone fighters, so there is play in the manned element rather than a technology improved F-18 reboot.
The three primes LM, NG, and BG now have the F-35, B-21, and F-47 to work on, let the best performer compete for the future core of the aircraft carriers’ combat wings.
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