PUBLISHED On August 10, 2025, 08:58 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary – Northrop Grumman has unveiled concept art for its F/A-XX sixth-generation naval fighter bid, a design seen by many as the spiritual successor to its legendary YF-23 prototype.
-The reveal comes as the F/A-XX program’s future is in jeopardy, with the Pentagon prioritizing the Air Force’s F-47 and slashing the Navy’s funding.
F/A-XX Fighter Mockup. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-This has created a high-stakes battle between the White House and Congress.
-By logical elimination, with Lockheed out and Boeing focused on the F-47, Northrop Grumman should now be considered the likely frontrunner to build the Navy’s next-generation carrier aircraft, should the program survive.
The YF-23 Comeback as the F/A-XX?
WARSAW, POLAND – Northrop Grumman is one of two contractors left in the running to design and build the U.S. Navy’s sixth-generation carrier-capable fighter aircraft, and the company is seen as likely to win the tender for it.
That is, if the program can get funded.
The F/A-XX program aims to produce an aircraft to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in U.S. carrier air wings.
I would argue that Northrop Grumman is projected to be awarded the contract by the logical process of elimination.
Earlier in the year, Lockheed Martin was reported to have been rejected when the Navy winnowed down the competition to two prime contractors, leaving Northrop Grumman and Boeing as the final contestants.
For the record, Lockheed Martin sources claim they never intended to compete for the Navy program, since they expected to win the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. That was awarded instead to Boeing and was designated the F-47.
This left Northrop Grumman as the only possibility, assuming “there is no way that the Navy would give the F/A-XX to Boeing when they are already building the next-generation Air Force fighter,” as a retired Air Force officer said. “So, by a process of elimination, Northrop are the only company left in the running that could be selected for the Navy’s next carrier aircraft.”
FA-XX Render from Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman has since published conceptual artwork for its entry in the F/A-XX program. Many experts claim that the photo resembles the YF-23 Black Widow II stealth fighter that Northrop pitched years ago as a competitor to the F-22 Raptor.
The company has stated that the rendering is not a generic configuration – the image is associated with Northrop Grumman’s concept for the final design.
The Navy, meanwhile, is continuing a long-established habit by being far more secretive about the details of this program than the Air Force has been about its NGAD fighter.
Design for Low Cross Section
The artwork shows a design optimized for a low radar cross-section. The overall platform features a blended-body concept, with the wing seamlessly transitioning into the fuselage. These details are typical of next-generation stealth designs.
The nose is very broad, suggesting a space to install a very powerful radar, albeit one with an antenna array that would have to conform to the stealthy shape of the nose section.
The aircraft also seems to have a large bubble canopy, meaning this would be a single-seat aircraft. The cockpit is positioned to provide the optimal over-the-nose visibility needed for carrier landings.
The aircraft, being only a single-seat design, is somewhat unexpected. Based on the number, complexity, and duration of the jet’s expected mission profiles, it was thought the F/A-XX would be a two-seat aircraft.
The fuselage appears to have a substantial internal volume, which would suggest a higher-than-normal internal fuel capacity, as well as ample space for an internal weapons bay.
The landing gear design appears consistent with the requirements for sink rate and other complications associated with carrier landings. The nose gear also has two wheels to absorb more of the shock of landing on deck.
Air Inlets and Low RCS
One of the more unique design details is the top-mounted intake, which is located on what is called the “left-hand shoulder” position.
The intake is among the most sensitive features on a stealthy aircraft, so this seems a somewhat awkward, seemingly out of place, not very stealthy position. The intake, as seen in the rendering, also appears too small for performance requirements.
Mounting the inlets above the wing does create low-observable benefits, but such a design could be incapable of providing the required airflow.
“The Navy has a validated requirement for carrier-based sixth-generation aircraft, and it is critical that we field that capability as quickly as possible to give our warfighters the capabilities they need to win against a myriad of emerging threats,” Adm. Daryl Caudle wrote in response to a question about F/A-XX ahead of his confirmation hearing as Chief of Naval Operations last month.
There are likely to be several new twists in the aircraft’s design and the program’s parameters as the Navy moves to select a final contractor. Again, if funding still happens.
Whatever comes out of the program, it seems clear it will be something we have not seen before.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
Defense Watch
F/A-XX Is the YF-23 on a Carrier?
Weaponhead
August 15, 2025 at 11:49 am
China is developing 3 different 6 gen fighters including a carrier capable one. The J-36, the J-50, and an undesignated one.