【By Observer Net, Shanmao】

The future of the U.S. Navy's next-generation carrier-based fighter, the F/A-XX, once seemed uncertain, but it now appears to be facing another turning point. According to a report by the U.S. "The War Zone" website on January 20 local time, the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees have reached an agreement on a draft military budget, which includes nearly $900 million for the U.S. Navy's next-generation carrier-based fighter project. The report states that the proposed legislation and related reports aim to advance the selection of the final winning bidder for the F/A-XX. Prior to this, although the U.S. Congress had allocated full funding for the F/A-XX in the recent Defense Policy Act, it did not directly reject the Pentagon's decision to "freeze" the F/A-XX project.

However, earlier on January 20, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released the draft text of the 2026 fiscal year defense appropriation bill, which is currently being reviewed in conjunction with other government agencies' spending bills. Along with this draft, a "joint explanatory statement report" was also released, containing more detailed information and guidance from Congress. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee had previously issued more concise information about the proposed legislation, briefly mentioning "increasing investment in the F/A-XX fighter."

Photo: Artistic rendering of the F/A-XX made by Boeing

Last December, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee announced that the 2026 fiscal year separate defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), had included full funding for both the Air Force's F-47 and the Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation aircraft projects. However, in the bill signed into law on December 18, the "full" funding for the F/A-XX only included $74 million from the Pentagon's 2026 fiscal year budget request. In June of last year, when the Pentagon released its 2026 fiscal year budget request, it had already announced the plan to "indefinitely suspend" the F/A-XX project. At that time, some U.S. military officials stated that the main consideration was "concern over the project potentially competing for resources with the Boeing F-47, which is the U.S. Air Force's sixth-generation aircraft." After Lockheed Martin withdrew, Boeing had been in fierce competition with Northrop Grumman for the F/A-XX.

The report states that as a highly stealthy aircraft, the F/A-XX aims to replace the current F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" and EA-18G "Growler," with greater range and "a series of other advanced technologies." U.S. Navy officials previously stated that this sixth-generation carrier-based aircraft would not only have traditional combat capabilities, but also significantly improve its performance in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and assist in battlefield command management. It will also serve as the "command center" (using the American football term "quarterback") for various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including future carrier-based collaborative combat aircraft (CCA).

According to the "joint explanatory statement report" released simultaneously with the congressional military budget draft, the agreement will provide an additional $897.26 million in the 2026 fiscal year presidential budget request to maintain the development of the F/A-XX and direct the Secretary of Defense to use this funding along with any previously obtained funds to award an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to a single executing agency, in line with the "accelerated initial operational capability procurement strategy." This can be understood as explicitly requiring the Pentagon to determine the winner of the bid in the 2026 fiscal year and award the development contract. The report states that this budget will support the U.S. Navy's efforts to develop the F/A-XX and recognize its unique capabilities in fleet air superiority, including longer range, faster speed, stealth, and higher survivability.

Related content in the report document

Previously, the Senate Appropriations Committee had decided to add $1.4 billion to the 2026 fiscal year defense budget for the F/A-XX, which aligns with the additional funding request reportedly included in the Navy's "unfunded priorities list" submitted to Congress last year. The statement also added that the agreement indicated that the full-year continuing resolution and extension bill for the 2025 fiscal year provided $453.88 million to support the procurement plan for the F/A-XX project, which was originally scheduled to issue the EMD contract in March 2025. However, in reality, the Navy did not proceed with this "milestone B" agreement, instead using all the 2025 fiscal year funds for contract extensions, but these extensions had minimal impact on the actual value of the project.

The report also stipulates that the Secretary of the Navy must submit a report to the Congressional Defense Committee within 45 days after the enactment of this bill, including a detailed explanation of the current procurement strategy and the schedule for awarding the EMD contract, revised development deployment schedules to achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the F/A-XX, potential budget or policy obstacles that may cause delays in the execution of previous year's funds, and the planned expenditure of the additional funds allocated to the Pentagon for this fiscal year for the project. Additionally, the draft bill explicitly mandates that the Secretary of Defense must allocate funds to "execute the EMD contract for the next-generation fighter in a way that accelerates IOC" and prohibits using any designated funds for the F/A-XX project for "pausing, canceling, or terminating" the project.

Content in the report regarding the Secretary of Defense

The report mentions that when the Pentagon planned to cut the F/A-XX budget last year, the Appropriations Committees of both chambers expressed dissatisfaction. In another report by members of Congress in June of last year, the committee expressed deep concern over the continuous cuts in the Navy's attack fighter investments, especially at a time when the carrier air wing was engaged in high-intensity operations around the world. The rapid advancement of China in producing advanced aircraft, potentially surpassing the U.S. in air superiority in the Indo-Pacific region, and China's continuous progress in carrier aviation capabilities, highlighted the urgent need for the modernization and upgrade of the U.S. Navy's carrier air wing. On the other hand, the U.S. Air Force had also considered canceling the F-47 project, but after evaluating the value of the next-generation fighter, it decided to continue the F-47 project, recognizing its importance in maintaining air superiority in future conflicts, especially high-level operations in the Pacific region against China.

Official artwork of the F-47 by the U.S. Air Force

Compared to the Pentagon's desire to pause the F/A-XX, the U.S. Navy has consistently expressed its stance to proceed with the project according to the schedule. In December last year, the Chief of Naval Operations, Daryl Caudle, said at the Reagan National Defense Forum that his responsibility was to inform the Secretary of Defense about this emergency situation, he participated in relevant discussions, and was working hard to build a credible rationale to prompt a swift decision. Meanwhile, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Michael Dunford, also stated at that time that he hoped to ensure that from his perspective, the industrial base could support the required capabilities, and he believed that the issue would be resolved as soon as possible. Executives from Northrop Grumman and Boeing also publicly stated that if the F/A-XX project was finalized, they were ready to proceed with the project, and Boeing more clearly stated that "the U.S. industrial base cannot simultaneously support the F/A-XX and F-47 projects." In August of last year, Rear Admiral Daniel Chiver, Commander of Naval Aviation, also told "The War Zone" website that he still had a "strong anticipation" for the arrival of the F/A-XX.

In recent months, the Trump administration has publicly announced several major decisions involving the Navy, including but not limited to canceling the "Constellation"-class frigate program and initiating the development of the "Trump"-class missile battleship. However, the F/A-XX, seen by some as crucial for winning the Pacific War and fully leveraging the power of U.S. aircraft carriers, had once been stalled. Currently, the House and Senate still need to pass merged spending bills, and there is a possibility of last-minute modifications. After that, it will require President Trump's signature to become the final version of the law. In short, the U.S. Congress is preventing the F/A-XX budget from being significantly reduced and trying to force Pentagon officials to select a winning proposal to advance the U.S. Navy's next-generation carrier-based fighter.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7597754001777590825/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.