Northrop Grumman released images of its version of the U.S. Navy’s highly anticipated sixth-generation strike fighter.
The defense behemoth posted concept art of the F/A-XX on its website, as competition for the contract heats up.
The image appeared on the Northrop Grumman website, under its Naval Aviation section, with text emblazoned across it that reads, “Project Power Anywhere.”
It’s unclear when the image was posted.
The artwork doesn’t reveal much, but does showcase a sleek-looking fighter with a long, sharp nose covered in shadows aboard an aircraft carrier.
The F/A-XX, which will succeed the F/A-18 Super Hornet, is slated to wield new technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, who spoke at the 2025 Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference. The upgrades will provide more battle space awareness and sharpen decision-making for naval aviators.
Boeing is set to end its F/A-18E-F Super Hornet production line in 2025 and stopped taking orders for them in 2023.
Donnelly said that the arrival of the fighter could usher in a new era in which unmanned and manned aircraft operate together. He also said the fighter would be expected to fly more than 25% farther than the Navy’s current fighters before needing a refuel.
Currently, the F/A-18 Super Hornet and carrier-based F-35C Joint Strike Fighter can fly more than 1,200 nautical miles.
President Trump announced the Air Force’s sixth-gen jet — the Boeing F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter — at the Oval Office on March 21.
With Lockheed Martin apparently out of the contract race, Northrop Grumman and Boeing appear to be the frontrunners for the F/A-XX contract, according to earlier Military Times reporting. But no official announcement has deemed a winner.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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