U.S. Navy Seeks $1.4 Billion for F/A-XX Sixth-Generation Fighter in 2026 Budget Wishlist

The U.S. Navy has formally requested $1.4 billion in its fiscal year 2026 Unfunded Priorities List (UPL) to support the F/A-XX program, a sixth-generation strike fighter intended to replace the aging F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet. This funding request, submitted to Congress, is aimed at awarding a contract to industry for the development of the aircraft, which is envisioned as a cornerstone of the Navy’s future carrier air wing.

Super Hornet. navair.navy.mil

The F/A-XX program has emerged as a focal point in the broader debate over the future of U.S. tactical aviation. While the Navy has emphasized the aircraft’s strategic importance, the program has faced headwinds from within the Pentagon and the White House. The Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal prioritized the U.S. Air Force’s F-47 sixth-generation fighter, allocating $3.5 billion to that effort and effectively reducing the Navy’s F/A-XX to a minimal funding level of $74 million for design completion. This decision reflects concerns about the capacity of the U.S. defense industrial base to simultaneously develop two advanced stealth fighter platforms.

Despite these constraints, the Navy’s UPL seeks to preserve momentum for the F/A-XX by securing funding outside the formal budget. The service argues that the aircraft is essential for maintaining air superiority in future contested environments and for integrating with unmanned systems in a manned-unmanned teaming construct. According to Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, the F/A-XX is expected to offer a 25% increase in range over current platforms and will be designed to operate in tandem with autonomous aircraft.

The program is currently in a source selection phase, with Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the remaining contenders. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, was eliminated from the competition earlier in 2025. The Navy has stated that the additional funding would enable it to move forward with a contract award, a critical step in transitioning from development to production.

Operationally, the F/A-XX has entered the combined Developmental Testing (DT), Operational Testing (OT), and Live Fire Evaluation (LF&E) phase under the oversight of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). This transition marks a significant milestone, indicating that the program has matured beyond early-stage development and is progressing toward operational readiness.

The broader context of the F/A-XX funding request includes a parallel push for munitions procurement and industrial base investment. The Navy’s UPL also includes $2.2 billion for munitions-related initiatives, with $1.4 billion allocated to strengthening the industrial base and $841 million earmarked for replenishing key missile inventories. These include the Standard Missile-6, Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, Maritime Strike Tomahawk, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles. The Navy has cited bottlenecks in lower-tier munitions components and the need to establish second-source vendors as justification for this investment.

The future of the F/A-XX remains uncertain amid competing priorities and fiscal constraints. While Congress has shown some support for the program—providing $454 million in fiscal year 2025—the administration’s strategic pivot toward the Air Force’s F-47 has cast doubt on the Navy’s ability to secure sustained funding. Nonetheless, the Navy continues to advocate for the F/A-XX as a critical enabler of future carrier strike group operations and a necessary complement to the F-35C.

The debate over the F/A-XX underscores the challenges of balancing innovation, industrial capacity, and strategic priorities in an era of constrained defense budgets. As the Navy seeks to navigate these dynamics, the outcome of its funding request will likely shape the trajectory of naval aviation for decades to come.