Plans Approved For Replacement Carrier-Based Stealth Fighter

The Pentagon has approved plans for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter jet to replace the aging fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets that have been in service for decades. This clears the path for the Navy to select between Boeing and Northrop Grumman for the award of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) contract.

The sixth-generation fighters will be designed to operate in tandem with CCAs, or Collaborative Combat Aircraft – drones – that will be controlled by the pilot in the main aircraft.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed off on advancing the program and the Navy could announce its choice of the program contract winner in the coming weeks or even days. The selection will mark the climax of years of design work under the Navy’s NGAD program.

Boeing and Northrop Grumman are the only two companies still in the running, and both have strong cases for their selection. Boeing has extensive experience building carrier-based fighters with its Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler platforms, and would appear to be the incumbent. The company can leverage its existing production lines, logistics pipelines, and decades of knowledge and experise about carrier-launched aircraft.

Northrop Grumman in contrast, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in building stealthy, survivable, long-range strike platforms with its B-2 Spirit bomber and its successor the B-21 Raider. Its leadership in unmanned systems and sensor technologies align with the Navy’s vision of a distributed and networked air force.

It will be interesting to see which way the Navy goes.

FMI:  www.navy.mil/