SIMPLE FLYING · DEFENSE
WHY THE US NAVY'S NEXT CARRIER FIGHTER MUST FLY TWICE AS FAR AS THE SUPER HORNET...
The US Navy still hasn’t picked a builder for the F/A-XX, its first clean-sheet carrier fighter jet design in a generation, and as of September 3, 2026, the wait has stretched past the deadline officials themselves set.
SCOTT: A budget that jumps from pocket change to real money means the Navy fighter is not dead — it means someone on the Hill got scared of a capability gap. Watch the engine and the carrier fit, not the artist’s rendering.