Why the U.S. Navy F/A-XX Sixth Generation Fighter May Be Defunded to Finance the Air Force’s F-47

The U.S. Department of Defence is reportedly considering cutting funding for the U.S. Navy’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/delays-contact-award-many-sixthgen" target="_blank">F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter </a>program, which is intended to provide the service with a much needed successor to its F-18E/F and F-35C fighters, in order to prioritise financing for the development of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/boeing-unprecedented-investments-f47" target="_blank">Air Force’s own</a> sixth generation fighter the F-47. A Pentagon request to the House and Senate defence policy committees in May stated regarding this possibility: “Given the schedule delays and cost growth across numerous airframes, DoD recommends a focus on the F-47, giving the Navy’s F/A-XX program time for technical maturity and development.” “Phasing the F/A-XX after the Air Force’s initial F-47 development will alleviate capacity concerns in the industrial base,” it further elaborated. While there was considerable uncertainty regarding the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter program from mid-2024, with its affordability having been brought to serious question, the significant support the program received from the newly inaugurated Donald Trump administration paved the way for <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/boeing-selected-develop-f47-sixth-generation-fighter-turning-point" target="_blank">Boeing to be selected </a>as a primary contractor in March 2025, allowing development to proceed.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/08/article_6845a19d74ff62_55184857.jpeg" title="U.S. Navy F-35C on Supercarrier USS Carl Vinson (U.S. Navy)">Before March, the possibility was raised by analysts that the Air Force’s greater budgetary struggles could lead it to postpone or even abandon plans to field a sixth generation fighter, leading the Navy’s F/A-XX to enter service sooner. The Navy has procured <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/expands-f35c-japan-iwakuni" target="_blank">F-35C fifth generation fighters</a> on only a small fraction of the scale on which the Air Force has <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/funding-next-batches-f35-delayed-radar-fuselage-redesign" target="_blank">procured the F-35A</a>, both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of its fleet, which makes the rapid development and procurement of a sixth generation fighter appear far more urgent for the Navy. The prioritisation of the Air Force’s program, however, could lead the Navy’s own program to be undercut, which has potentially very serious consequences for the viability of its carrier air wings in high intensity combat, particularly in the Pacific theatre. China’s fielding of the J-20 as an <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" target="_blank">increasingly capable</a> and very long range fifth generation fighter in <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/how-many-j20-stealth-fighter-will-china-build-top-expert-predicts-over-1000" target="_blank">fast growing numbers</a>, and its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unveiled-stealthiest-fighter-sixth-generation">unveiling</a>&nbsp;of two new <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/worlds-largest-fighter-plane-china-ultra-long-range-sixth-gen" target="_blank">sixth generation fighters</a>&nbsp;in December 2024 already at flight prototype stages, has raised serious concerns regarding America’s future capability to wage an air campaign in the Pacific, and has thus provided a primary rationale for financing both the F-47 and the F/A-XX<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/08/article_6845a0f5590ba6_95402571.webp" title="Chinese J-XX Sixth Generation Long Range Fighter Prototype">Citing Chinese capabilities in particular, acting Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James W. Kilby stated regarding the need to develop the F/A-XX: “The sixth-gen fighter has some capabilities that we need to counter” the People’s Liberation Army Navy. “Those are signatures, those are range, those are different engines. Those are all the things that will make it survivable. The Air Force and Navy have different missions, but we’re going against the same threat,” he elaborated. His statement appeared to imply a warning that cuts to the F/A-XX program would undermine the Air Force’s ability to wage war in the Pacific due to the important support provided to a broader war effort by naval aviation.The Air Force has struggled with extreme funding shortages, as it seeks to finance the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-200-b21s-expansion-fleet" target="_blank">B-21 intercontinental range bomber</a> program, continued procurement, operations and modernisation of the F-35 which has run <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-sustainment-costs-44pct-controversy" target="_blank">tremendously over budget</a>, development and procurement of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/head-sentinel-icbm-development-woes" target="_blank">Sentinel ICBM</a> which is also several billion dollars over budget, urgent F-15EX fighter and E-7 AEW&amp;C procurements, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-retire-b52-finance-b21-stealth" target="_blank">modernisation of the B-52</a> bomber fleet, among several other high priority investments. This has seriously limited the funding available for the F-47, particularly as the aircraft is expected to require parallel development of tankers with advanced stealth capabilities to be able to operate effectively in the Pacific. With Air Force officials having recently <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-chief-cites-china-sixth-gen-stronger-fleet" target="_blank">consistently called</a> for an urgent surge in funding, and some explicitly stating that this could be <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2025/05/exclusive-allvin-says-air-force-must-grow-even-at-expense-of-other-services/" target="_blank">done at the expense</a> of other services, the possibility of the Navy being forced to compromise on its requirements or its timeline for the F/A-XX remain highly significant.&nbsp;