Navy Making Final Selection For F/A-XX Stealth Fighter, Plans For 2030s Service Entry

While the Air Force’s NGAD fighter initiative currently paused, the Navy is pushing ahead with its similar F/A-XX stealth jet program.

• The U.S. Navy expects its sixth-generation fighter to enter service in the 2030s, bringing with it the ability to operate alongside drones and fly missions at long ranges — capabilities seen as essential for future conflict with China...a program named Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)...
• Faced with the prospect of a potential future war in the Pacific with China and facing ever more advanced and further-reaching air defenses, as well as the vast distances involved in such a theater, long range was always seen as being one of the core capabilities of the Air Force’s NGAD fighter...