An artist rendering of the proposed F-47 Sixth-Generation fighter. (U.S. Air Force)
The armed forces of the United States have competed amongst themselves for generations, so it would be surprising if they weren’t already heating up over the future sixth-generation fighter.
“Future” is the operative word: Even the most aggressive timelines predict a first flight unlikely before 2028, with an entry to service in the early 2030s. The project demands relatively small fiscal resources for now — just over $5.1 billion of the $1.5 trillion defense budget rolled out this week.
The bigger headlines went to Pentagon plans to triple spending on unmanned vehicles to as much as $75 billion, as well as pay $30 billion to replenish stocks of missiles and anti-missile missiles used in the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
But the budget also included seed money for projects that exist only on paper, such as the Trump-class battleship — as well as competing plans from the Air Force and Navy for a stealth long-range fighter they hope to put into service by the 2030s.
Out front is the Air Force, which already has a number on its plane: F-47. The budget includes $5 billion to accelerate the development of the Boeing “air dominance” fighter, which is expected to replace the service’s F-22.
It also has perhaps the most important fan — President Donald Trump. The Pentagon numbered the plane after Trump, the 47th president. The fighter’s name is still to be announced.
The Navy has its own sixth-generation fighter in development, the F/A-XX. Until recently, the future of a carrier-launched new jet was uncertain.
When announcing Boeing as the builder of choice for the F-47 in March 2025, Trump told the Pentagon to go “all-in” on the project. He also suggested that building two sixth‑generation fighters was problematic.
“Awarding the F/A‑XX contract as written is likely to delay the higher‑priority F‑47 program, with low likelihood of improving the timeline to field a Navy sixth‑generation fighter,” the White House said in a July 2025 statement to Congress.
But last week, Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said the carrier-based sixth-generation fighter was on a faster track to development.
“The Navy will award a production contract for the F/A-XX sixth generation fighter in August.” Caudle said.
The final decision comes down to two military industry heavyweights: Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Boeing, builder of the Navy’s F/A‑18E/F Super Hornet and EA‑18G Growler jets, has pitched a carrier version of its F-47 design, saying that having one contractor on both projects will lead to cost savings and technology sharing.
Northrup Grumman, the other finalist, has a long reputation with the Navy as the builder of the former F-14 Tomcat. The company has pitched a “clean sheet” design that wouldn’t share major elements with the F-47. Supporters flip Boeing’s argument on its head, saying that Northrop Grumman will be able to concentrate on the project instead of splitting its energy and manufacturing capacity on building two sixth-generation jets simultaneously.
Lockheed Martin, the builder of both the F-22 and F-35, was eliminated from the competition last year.
How much money is available for the F/A-XX project is a question for the 2028 budget, when the contractor will be decided and design work is further down the road. Once into Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD), the cost of the F/A-XX and its piece of the budget will come into focus.
The F/A-XX is budgeted to get $140 million in fiscal 2027 — $68 million from the baseline defense budget and $72 million from reconciliation funding that would need to be passed in separate legislation by Congress.
The Marine Corps has its own ideas — and they may not square with its parent department, the Navy.
Marine Lt. Gen. William Swan, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation, told reporters at a meeting in Quantico, Va., that its concept for a sixth-generation fighter jet that would enter service around 2041 is one that will likely “look like” but not necessarily be the same as the Navy’s choice for the F/A-XX.
“We’re fast following with the Air Force, right?” Swan said, according to Breaking Defense. “They got the F-47, the Navy’s looking at F/A-XX, and they’re just starting on that. So, we are going to watch.”
In the meantime, the services can look at their respective pieces of the Pentagon’s $21.4 billion buy of fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters in the 2027 budget.
The Air Force will buy 38 F-35As, which take off and land at bases.
The Navy will receive 37 F-35Cs, which can be carrier-launched or operate from bases.
The Marines will receive 10 F-35Bs, which can take off and land vertically and operate from amphibious assault warships or unfinished airstrips on land.
The total buy of 85 F-35 Lightning II variants is up from 47 last year.
Mark Cancian, an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said it is difficult to forecast the future for the sixth-generation fighters in a year when the Pentagon is asking for a record-shattering $1.5 trillion in total spending.
Future administrations may be more financially constrained, have different priorities and also need to pay the bills for current conflicts like Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Cancian said various priorities — such as the likelihood that the Marines would want a sixth-generation fighter with a vertical take-off and landing capability — could come up against a money crunch that might zero out one or more of the aircraft ideas.
“There’s not much need to cut anything when talking about how to spend $1.5 trillion,” Cancian said.
