A top-ranking US Navy (USN) official said that the service needs to augment the 6th-generation F/A-XX program to prepare for potential confrontations with adversaries, including Iran.
Making a case for the US Navy’s F/A-XX fighter jet program, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle, stated that adversaries like Iran are becoming more capable of shooting down the Navy’s current workhorse, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, due to the quick proliferation of sophisticated anti-aircraft systems.
The timing of these comments is intriguing, as a massive military build-up in the Central Command theatre of responsibility ordered by the Pentagon is currently underway. The assets dispatched to the region include the USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which is loaded with warplanes such as Super Hornets, F-35s, and EA-18G Growlers.
“We have a big force going towards Iran,” Trump told reporters last week. “And maybe we won’t have to use it… We have a lot of ships going that direction.” The remarks and the buildup have triggered speculations that the United States may be preparing for another attack on Iran, just months after it launched ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ in June 2025.
“When things heated up in Iran, guess who steamed over there, right? It was the United States Navy and the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group,” Caudle was quoted in a recent report. “Imagine what that looks like in ten years from now, with a different Iran, with different capability [that] can go against the F-18 capabilities of today.”
The USN top boss was speaking about the futuristic F/A-XX during a live question-and-answer session at the Apex Defence conference earlier this week. Notably, this may be the first time any US official has projected the F/A-XX as a requirement to combat the sustained security threat posed by Iran.
It is worth mentioning that during the US ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ that involved bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the B-2 bombers were accompanied by F-35s that conducted SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defence) missions and escorted by the F-22 Raptors.
However, the USN top boss appears wary of the capabilities Tehran could amass well into the future.
“I hate to say it, sounds cliche, but you know, when things heat up in Iran, guess who steamed over there? Right? It was the United States Navy and the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group,” the Navy’s top officer said. “So you can imagine what that looks like 10 years from now, with a different Iran, with different capabilities, that can go against F-18 capabilities of today.”
Among the risks posed by Iran to the US Navy, the Admiral also pointed to assistance received by countries like Iran and North Korea from major military powers like China and Russia through various back-channel networks and third-party transactions.
“This is an ever-evolving theme, and when you’ve got partnerships … well, coupled with each other across China and Russia and Iran and North Korea, and terrorist groups that are getting that kit from all of those through back-channel ways, our ability to fly with impunity with our existing airframes is fleeting,” he continued. “So, if I don’t start building that [F/A-XX] immediately, you’re not going to get it for some time.”
It is worth noting that although the US Navy is transitioning to the F-35C by replacing the F/A-18E/F, the non-stealthy Super Hornets remain its workhorse.
The Super Hornets and their Electronic Warfare variant, the EA-18G Growler, have been part of the air wings of all US aircraft carriers that have been moved in and out of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in the last two years.
However, they may not be enough to combat the rising military power of Iran and its proxies, such as the Yemen-based Houthis. Both Iran and its axis of resistance possess cutting-edge air defence systems that can threaten the US Navy’s strike and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) assets.
For instance, the Houthis were able to down more than 20 MQ-9 Reaper drones despite being non-state actors.
As far as Iran is concerned, its integrated air defence network (IADN) allegedly includes long-range surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs) capable of engaging aircraft at distances up to 400 kilometres. Some of the key Iranian systems include the domestic Bavar-373, which is comparable to the S-300 and capable of intercepting targets at altitudes up to 27 kilometres.
These air defence systems could target US Navy fighter jets, such as F/A-18 Super Hornets, launched from carriers such as the USS Abraham Lincoln, especially during close-air support or strike missions against Iranian targets.
In such a scenario, non-stealthy Super Hornets would be more vulnerable since adversaries like Iran are developing sophisticated air defences that make it harder for the United States to “fly with impunity.”
The US Navy’s top boss believes that the F/A-XX would significantly exceed the capabilities of the F-35 and bring enhanced stealth, firepower, and electronic warfare to the air wings of US Navy aircraft carriers.
The Navy Needs F/A-XX
The F/A-XX is meant to replace the F/A-18 Super Hornet and outperform the F-35. It is anticipated to have a 25% longer range than the F-35C version.
According to Caudle, it is also anticipated to feature more advanced jammers than the present EA-18G Growler, as well as the integrated capability to command several unmanned loyal-wingman drones known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), which are considered crucial for bolstering the survivability of manned fighter jets in modern aerial warfare.
This force multiplier capability would enable it to coordinate swarms of drones for reconnaissance, electronic warfare, or strike missions, thereby overwhelming adversaries’ defences. Additionally, equipped with next-generation sensors and data links, F/A-XX will enhance situational awareness, enabling real-time targeting and coordination with assets such as early warning aircraft, aircraft carriers, and surface ships.
“The next-generation airframe, F/A-XX, is so vital,” Caudle summed up. “It’s vital because of, one, the CCAs it will command and control. Its penetration — the Growlers won’t last forever, so it’ll be our electronic attack airplane as well. Its range will be coupled with the MQ-25 [unmanned tanker] for clandestine refueling and organic refueling from the carrier.”
He reportedly told the Apex Defence conference that only an aircraft with the entire set of capabilities envisioned for F/A-XX—stealth, range, electronic warfare, and the ability to command flocks of unmanned “loyal wingmen”—can consistently breach future air defences, including those of Iran.
“This [carrier] air wing of the future design is so important for so many reasons … nothing delivers the mass of an air wing if you want to deliver mass fires.”
In addition, F/A-XX will be capable of conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, electronic warfare, and battle space management. Moreover, the aircraft’s enhanced endurance would support prolonged missions, which are critical for maintaining a presence in vast operational theatres.
“I know these things are expensive, and I know the defence industrial base is compressed, but we have got to figure out how to walk and chew gum here with aircraft,” he added.
Caudle’s comments argue for accelerating the F/A-XX program, which has been on the back burner to leverage its resources in support of the US Air Force’s F-47 sixth-generation aircraft, a contract for which was awarded to Boeing in March 2025.
In June 2025, the Pentagon requested that the House and Senate defence policy committees divert $500 million from the “accelerated development” of a Navy stealth fighter to the F-47. “Simultaneously pursuing two sixth-generation fighters risks under-delivery on both,” the Pentagon stated.
However, the USN program is now expected to receive a new lease of life as the House and Senate Appropriations Committees recently revived funding for the F/A-XX carrier-based next-generation combat jet program while denouncing the Pentagon for its failure to award key development contracts for the F/A-XX.
It negotiated a draft defence spending bill earmarking $900 million for the F/A-XX, marking a stark increase from the $74 million allocated by the National Defence Authorization Act signed into law last month.
The committee published a Joint Explanatory Statement report with additional information and Congressional guidance.
“The agreement supports the Navy’s efforts to develop the F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter and understands the program’s unique capability in delivering air superiority to the fleet, including greater operational range, speed, stealth, and enhanced survivability,” the committee wrote in the bill.
Furthermore, the proposed bill and the report seek to finally compel the stalled selection of the F/A-XX competition’s winner. As of now, Boeing and Northrop Grumman seem to be in the running for the contest.
However, for the bill to become law and for the funding to go through, it would have to be approved by both houses and signed by the President.
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