PUBLISHED on August 8, 2025, 07:45 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary – Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman has unveiled a new concept rendering for its F/A-XX sixth-generation naval fighter submission, which has been compared to the company’s legendary YF-23 prototype.
-The image depicts a single-seat aircraft with a large internal volume for fuel and weapons.
-This reveal comes as the F/A-XX program itself is “fighting for its life.”
-The Trump administration has slashed its funding to prioritize the Air Force’s F-47 program, but the Navy’s new leadership and members of Congress are battling the White House to keep the “critical” program alive.
Northrop Unveils F/A-XX Concept Design As Navy Program Fights for Life
Amid questions about the future of the Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation development and acquisition program, aerospace giant Northrop Grumman has published a conceptual rendering for its own submission.
Published on the Northrop Grumman website, the rendering offers a visual overview of the proposed exterior design of the plane, with a focus on its nose, cockpit, and forward fuselage.
However, the images leave plenty to the imagination, with no additional information published about the aircraft’s proposed capabilities and technical specifications.
While the image does not show the entire aircraft, it does offer some clues about its design and expected features.
The aircraft is depicted on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, and as noted by The War Zone (TWZ), looks to be awaiting catapult launch.
What the F/A-XX Could Look Like…
Other notable features seen in the rendering include a large canopy that suggests the plane eschews a twin-seat design – which would make it better suited for long-range missions – for a single seat.
And, as TWZ also notes, a large, rounded belly suggests “considerable internal volume for fuel and weapons.”
Heavy-duty landing gear can also be seen in the image – necessary for takeoff and landing on aircraft carriers that typically put greater strain on landing gear.
Twin wheels on the nose gear also spread the load upon landing, improving stability and protecting the nose gear from high forces endured during catapult launches and hard landings.
It Looks Like the YF-23?
While the final design is not yet confirmed, and the render only represents the current progress of Northrop’s submission, it has so far been compared to the company’s YF-23 – a proposed aircraft submitted for consideration by the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter competition, which ultimately lost to the YF-22 design by Lockheed Martin. The YF-22 today is known as the F-22 Raptor.
Will the Navy Get What It Needs?
Northrop’s concept arrives as the F/A-XX program faces deep uncertainty.
The Trump administration slashed FY2026 funding for the project to just $74 million, choosing to prioritize the Air Force’s F-47 program over the Navy’s sixth-generation jet. As it stands, the Trump administration opposes an extra $972 million approved by House appropriators.
A July statement from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget outlined concerns about funding allocated for multiple acquisition plans, including the F/A-XX program.
“The Administration appreciates the Committee’s commitment to fielding timely sixth-generation fighter aircraft. However, the Administration strongly supports reevaluating the F/A-XX program due to industrial base concerns of two sixth-generation programs occurring simultaneously.
Awarding the F/A-XX contract as written is likely to delay the higher-priority F-47 program, with a low likelihood of improving the timeline to field a Navy sixth-generation fighter. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to identify an optimal path forward,” the statement explained.
Meanwhile, Admiral Daryl Caudle, the newly-confirmed and Trump-nominated Chief of Naval Operations, recently warned that defunding F/A-XX will put U.S. carrier air wings at a disadvantage as China fields its own sixth-generation aircraft. Caudle has urged an “all hands on deck” approach to upgrading U.S. military aircraft and hardware, calling the F/A-XX program “critical” to maintaining air superiority.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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