F/A-XX, carrier review set

The Navy plans to pick the builder of its next carrier-based fighter in August, even as it reviews whether future Ford-class carriers should keep their current design. (defensescoop.com) Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said April 20 that the F/A-XX downselect should happen in August 2026 after talks with Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg. DefenseScoop and USNI News both reported the decision comes after roughly a year of delay. (defensescoop.com) (news.usni.org) Navy Secretary John Phelan said April 22 that a separate review of the Ford-class carrier’s design and costs should be finished in May. He said it was “too early to say” whether future ships could change, but added, “we will have carriers.” (military.com) (news.usni.org) A carrier fighter and a carrier have to fit each other. The jet has to launch and land on a moving deck, and the ship’s catapults, arresting gear, elevators and deck cycle shape how fast the air wing can fight. (allhands.navy.mil) (military.com) That pairing is why the two timelines matter. The Navy is choosing a new aircraft for the 2030s while checking whether the expensive ship built to operate future aircraft still matches the service’s cost and performance goals. (defensescoop.com) (news.usni.org) The F/A-XX is meant to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which remains the backbone of the carrier air wing. NAVAIR says the Super Hornet will stay a major combat aircraft into the 2040s, which gives the Navy some cushion if the new program slips again. (news.clearancejobs.com) (www.navair.navy.mil) Congress has been pushing the fighter program forward faster than the Pentagon requested. House appropriators recommended $971.58 million for F/A-XX in fiscal 2026, far above the Navy’s $74 million request, and directed the department to support accelerated design and risk reduction. (congress.gov) (defensescoop.com) The carrier side carries its own cost pressure. The Ford class is the first new carrier class in more than 40 years, and the Navy is assessing the design of CVN-82 and CVN-83, the next two ships it is slated to buy. (airlant.usff.navy.mil) (news.usni.org) Phelan said the review will test claims that Ford-class ships can launch and recover aircraft faster than older Nimitz-class carriers. The Navy, in its own statement, called the Ford design “battle-proven” and said it delivers higher sortie rates and more combat power. (military.com) Only USS Gerald R. Ford is in service today, while the next two ships in the class are still ahead in the build plan and two more have already been named USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush. That leaves the Navy trying to lock in a future air wing and a future carrier design on overlapping clocks. (military.com) (defensescoop.com) By late summer, the Navy says it should know who builds the next jet. By then, it also expects to know whether the carrier that jet flies from stays on its current track. (defensescoop.com) (military.com)