Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares rose 2.20% to $191.80 in extended trading Tuesday after the U.S. Navy selected the company to develop its next-generation F/A-XX carrier-based fighter. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Boeing’s remaining competitor for the program, fell 2.57% to $491.65 after losing the competition.
The Pentagon said the contract is valued at more than $20 billion for the F/A-XX full-scale development phase. It includes multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons-integration testing.
Boeing Will Design and Build the Navy’s New Carrier Fighter
Boeing said it will design, build, and deliver the Navy’s sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter, which is intended to replace the service’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet. Technical and program details remain classified.
The development award does not cover the full value of any eventual production program. The current contract funds the development phase and test aircraft, while operational aircraft would follow as the program moves beyond development. The Navy expects the new fighter to begin entering the fleet in the 2030s.
Northrop Grumman’s after-hours decline followed the same award decision that lifted Boeing shares. The two companies had remained in contention for the F/A-XX contract before the Navy chose Boeing.
F/A-XX Adds to Boeing’s F-47 Fighter Work
The F/A-XX selection gives Boeing another major sixth-generation fighter program after the U.S. Air Force chose the company in March 2025 to develop the F-47 under its Next Generation Air Dominance program.
Boeing has said it planned to deliver the two advanced fighter programs in parallel and invested in facilities, technology and personnel to support concurrent work. The company is also expanding secure manufacturing capacity in St. Louis for future combat-aircraft production.
The Navy award comes as Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet new-build line in St. Louis approaches its end, with final Navy deliveries scheduled no later than spring 2027.
For broader defense-sector context, ABBO News recently covered Ondas’ $56 million defense deals, another recent development involving U.S. defense-related business activity.
