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New Navy fighter jet pits Boeing ( BA ) vs Northrop

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Announcement could come this week, source says

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Hegseth personally signed off on advancing plan last week

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - After months of delay, the

Pentagon will select as soon as this week the defense company to

design and build the Navy's next stealth fighter, a U.S.

official and two people familiar with the decision said, it will

be a multibillion-dollar effort for a jet seen as central to

U.S. efforts to counter China.

Boeing Co ( BA ) and Northrop Grumman Corp ( NOC ) are

competing to be chosen to produce the aircraft, dubbed the

F/A-XX. The new carrier-based jet will replace the Navy's

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet, which has been in service since

the 1990s.

The decision to move ahead with a selection was made by

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, the U.S. official and

one of the people said.

The U.S. Navy could announce winner of the competition to

build its fighter as soon as this week, one of the people said.

But last-minute snags have delayed progress on the Navy jet in

the past and could do so again, sources said.

The Navy and the Pentagon did not respond to several

requests for comment.

Holdups on F/A-XX highlight broader questions about the

future of naval aviation and the role of aircraft carriers in

confronting China. Delaying the program or starving it of funds

could leave the Navy without a modern fighter capable of

operating from carriers in the 2030s and beyond, potentially

undermining the fleet's ability to project power.

The F/A-XX is expected to feature advanced stealth

capabilities, improved range and endurance, and the ability to

integrate with both uncrewed combat aircraft and the Navy's

carrier-based air defense systems.

DELAY

A funding dispute in the spring and summer between the

Pentagon and Congress delayed the program's advancement.

The Pentagon sought $74 million for the jet to keep it on

"minimal development funding." Some Pentagon officials had

sought to delay the program by up to three years, citing

concerns about engineering and supply chain capacity, Reuters

reported in May.

Congress and the Navy had wished to move forward with

awarding a contract. Congress put $750 billion to speed the

F/A-XX jet into the massive tax-cut and spending bill which was

signed into law this summer. Additionally, Congress earmarked an

additional $1.4 billion for F/A-XX in fiscal 2026.

(Sugg - Beyond)to the funding dispute, there was also debate

during the months-long delay about whether defense contractors

Northrop and Boeing ( BA ) would struggle to make the jet on schedule.

Defense officials debated whether Boeing ( BA ) could employ enough

engineers for the project after it was awarded a contract to

build the U.S. Air Force's F-47 jet in March, sources said. They

also debated whether Northrop would strain under the ballooning

costs of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile

program, aimed at replacing the aging Minuteman III missiles,

the sources said.

The quantity of F/A-XX jets, the value and exact timelines

of the program remain classified, but previous such contracts -

such as that for the F-35 - have been worth tens of billions of

dollars over their lifetime.

The U.S. Navy still plans to buy more than 270 Lockheed

Martin Corp F-35C jets for its carrier fleet. Earlier

this year, Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) was ejected from the F/A-XX

competition.

The first production jets are expected to enter service in

the 2030s, while F/A-18s are expected to remain in service into

the 2040s.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Lincoln

Feast.)