TLDR
- Boeing won the Navy’s F/A-XX fighter jet contract last week, worth more than $20 billion in its development phase.
- This follows Boeing’s F-47 win from the Air Force in March 2025, giving it both major sixth-generation fighter jet contracts.
- Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the F/A-XX deal.
- Boeing stock sits near $192.72, within its 52-week range of $176.77 to $254.35.
- Boeing’s defense unit lost $20.5 billion on five fixed-price programs, and analysts say contract terms will decide if this win actually pays off.
Boeing (BA) stock traded around $192.72 on Monday, down slightly on the day. The move comes as the company digests news of its second major fighter jet win in under two years.
Last week, Boeing secured the US Navy’s F/A-XX contract. The deal is worth more than $20 billion in its initial development phase alone.
This follows Boeing’s win of the Air Force’s F-47 program back in March 2025. Together, the two contracts hand Boeing control of both branches’ next-generation fighter jet programs.
Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the Navy deal. Northrop said it has requested a debriefing from the Navy on the decision, a required step before any appeal.
Why Boeing Won
People familiar with the competition point to years of investment and decades of experience building carrier-based jets. Boeing also leaned heavily on digital design tools, which let engineers and military officials test changes during development.
“Boeing’s embrace was effective,” one former Pentagon official said, referring to how seriously the company took the Pentagon’s push for easier-to-upgrade aircraft.
CEO Kelly Ortberg’s defense chief, Steve Parker, said developing both fighters at once was always the plan. “Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly,” he said.
The F-47 is set to fly in 2028 and enter service in 2029. The Air Force plans to buy at least 185 of them to replace the aging F-22 fleet.
The F/A-XX timeline sits further out, with service entry expected sometime in the 2030s. It will eventually replace the Navy’s F/A-18 fleet and come with a built-in electronic warfare system.
What Could Go Wrong
Winning the contracts doesn’t guarantee Boeing makes money on them. Much depends on contract terms that neither Boeing nor the Pentagon have disclosed.
Boeing has lost $20.5 billion across five fixed-price development programs, including the KC-46 tanker and the Starliner spacecraft. “If it is fixed price, that’s a warning sign,” said analyst Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory.
Ortberg has said Boeing won’t pursue similar fixed-price contracts going forward. The company wants to avoid repeating those costly mistakes.
Still, the long-term picture looks different from past programs. Combined, the Air Force and Navy are expected to buy more than 370 sixth-generation fighters over time.
That volume, paired with Boeing being the sole source for both aircraft, removes any pricing competition from rivals for at least this generation. Lockheed Martin, which built the F-22 and F-35, no longer holds that position for the next generation.
Northrop Grumman still won the B-21 stealth bomber contract, a separate sixth-generation win. But in fighter jets specifically, Boeing now stands alone.
Boeing’s defense, space and security division recently returned to profitability after four straight years of losses, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Wall Street had already penciled in 2027 as the year Boeing returns to sustained companywide profit.
Boeing stock has a 52-week range of $176.77 to $254.35, with a market cap near $152 billion. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin both declined to comment on the contract terms.
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