[Text/Observer.com Wang Shichun] Driven by U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth, the U.S. military's next-generation carrier-based aircraft project FA/XX is about to win the resurrection game.
Combined “War Zone” website, Reuters and “Breaking Defense” website on October 8 that several sources confirmed that the United States would announce the results of the FA/XX bidding this week (before October 12), after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Higgs personally “lighted the green light” for the project.
FA/XX imaging chart released by Boeing (image above) and FA/XX imaging chart released by Nokia (image below) Boeing/Nogue official website
Reuters quoted a U.S. official and two people familiar with this decision, who confirmed that U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth had decided on October 3rd to move forward with the contract selection.
Breaking Defense claimed that two sources confirmed the matter. However, sources also pointed out that in the past, there have been last-minute accidents that led to project delays, and similar risks still exist this time. As of now, the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon have not responded to requests for comment.
On the warships, Trump also met with senior naval officials and closely watched the various aircraft of the current aircraft carrier coalition.
The companies currently participating in the FA/XX bidding are Northrop Grumman and Boeing. When Northrop Grumman withdrew from the U.S. Air Force's six-generation NGAD project in 2023, it said it would focus on other priorities, including the F/A-XX and B-21, while Boeing bidded for both the FA/XX and NGAD projects. Following the U.S. Air Force's six-generation F-47 construction contract in March, defense officials discussed whether Boeing had enough engineers to invest in the F/A-XX project.
In August of this year, Nokia first showed the concept rendering of FA/XX, then Boeing also showed the concept rendering of the F/A-XX project. In which Nokia showed more features of six generations: the back in-air, allegedly lacking tail wings.
In 2020, after nearly a decade of intermittent discussions, the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) recently "quietly" established the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program office, code-named PMA-230. According to reports, the purpose of the new aircraft is to counter threats from Russia and China in the Indo-Pacific theater, and the manned carrier-based aircraft part of the project was later called "F/A-XX."
In the following years, the U.S. Navy invested billions in the FA/XX project, but the research and development did not go smoothly. Therefore, the FA/XX project has been on the verge of being cancelled since last year. In the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act released in 2024, the F/A-XX, a next-generation carrier-based aircraft project that the U.S. Navy has placed high hopes on, has its budget cut by 90%, from a $450 million application budget to $53.828 million. In contrast, the U.S. Navy applied for a $1.4 billion budget in fiscal year 2024.
In the spring and summer of this year, a funding dispute between the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress hindered the progress of the project. The Pentagon had requested $74 million for the fighter jet project to maintain its "minimum R & D funding." The U.S. Navy also stated in June that the FA/XX project was not a "priority."
Reuters in May that Pentagon officials, led by new U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Haggers, sought to delay the project by three years because of concerns about engineering technology and supply chain capabilities.
But in July this year, the Senate Allocation Committee pushed forward a draft defense spending bill that changed the fate of FA/XX. In the "Annual Unfinanced Priorities List (UPL)" submitted to Parliament by the U.S. Navy, the list called for additional funding for the F/A-XX project.
The "War Zone" website related this decision to the recent naval celebration ceremony promoted by Trump. US President Trump and First Lady Melania attended the 250th anniversary celebration of the founding of the US Navy at Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia on Sunday, and boarded the aircraft carrier Bush moored here.
In addition, the "war zone" also links FA/XX and J-35. The "Theater of War" commented that the latest evidence suggests that China's Shenyang J-35 next-generation carrier-based fighter may have entered a limited mass production stage and may even be in service in the China People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
One notable advance last month was that the Chinese Navy demonstrated new capabilities from aircraft carriers equipped with launchers – its first such aircraft carrier “Fujian”.In addition to the J-35, the J-15T single-seat naval fighter and the KJ-600 air early warning and control aircraft have also been tested on the new aircraft carrier.
With China rapidly developing more advanced fighter designs, similar designs to sixth-generation invisible fighters (some variants of which could eventually be applied to the aircraft carrier environment), the U.S. Navy is facing pressure not to back down.
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