Why the US military Going Boeing for sixth-generation fighters is a seismic shift
Victory in the navy’s F/A-XX contest, along with its earlier F-47 win, means the airframer has a stranglehold on US sixth-generation fighter programmes. Now it must deliver.
Boeing’s long-beleaguered defence unit has got its swagger back, with its contender for the US Navy’s (USN’s) sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter requirement having won selection.
Taken in isolation, scoring a deal to replace the navy’s carrier-based F/A-18E/F Super Hornets is a big win, but it adds to the airframer’s victory in the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Next Generation Air Dominance competition just 18 months earlier.
Sweeping up both of Washington’s vital next-generation fighter programmes marks a massive reversal of fortunes for Boeing, which earlier this decade looked to have been sidelined in the combat air sector. With its Super Hornet model nearing a production end and the USAF flip-flopping over its commitment to the F-15EX Eagle II, things didn’t look promising.
Added to that, Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) also has for the last several years been struggling with multiple major US contracts – including the KC-46 tanker, T-7A advanced jet trainer and replacement ‘Air Force One’ activities, to name just a few – with delays and cost overruns.
But now, much as Lockheed Martin cornered the fifth-generation market with its F-22 and F-35, Boeing is on contract to deliver the USAF’s F-47 and the navy’s as-yet-unnamed F/A-XX platform, with the programmes running concurrently.
It had already invested heavily in building a new fighter production facility in St Louis, Missouri before winning either deal, and “delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan”, says BDS chief executive Steve Parker.
The magnitude of its dual sixth-generation contest wins is such that AeroDynamic Advisory managing director and vocal critic of Boeing’s past failings Richard Aboulafia describes it as “just an incredible rags to riches story”, adding: “I don’t think there’s anything like it in the industry, historically.”
Of course now the hard work really begins, with Boeing expecting to perform a first flight of its highly secretive F-47 in 2028 and the F/A-XX jet due to embark on USN carriers at some point during the 2030s.
The stunning turnaround of Boeing’s fighter-sector prospects marks a continuation of a broader improvement under CEO Kelly Ortberg, with its commercial aircraft business also continuing to turn the corner following the 737 Max crisis from late last decade.
Good news has also been in supply for Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) recently, with long-delayed certifications at last received for the largest and smallest members of its narrowbody family. The Max 10 finally got approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October, following the Max 7’s getting the nod during August.
But significant challenges still remain for BCA chief Stephanie Pope to iron out. Those include a wing production capacity shortfall which means the company is currently unable to sustain its planned monthly output of 47 Max jets, along with slower than anticipated fuselage production work.
On the bright side, BCA delivered a record 363 Max aircraft during the first nine months of this year, but it will fall short of an annual target of 500 units.
Bigger issues persist with its 777X programme, however, with uncertainty surrounding the schedule for crucial flight-testing ahead of certification by the FAA. A problem with a mid-seal on the widebody’s GE Aerospace GE9X engine is responsible for the current delay, although Ortberg is confident that delayed deliveries of the 777-9 will be able to take off during 2027.
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