Schmitt Helps Land $20 Billion Navy Fighter Contract for St. Louis

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt scored a major win for Missouri Tuesday as the Navy selected Boeing’s St. Louis operation to develop its next-generation F/A-XX strike fighter, bringing another massive defense program to the state after a sustained push from the Missouri senator.

The contract is valued at more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase alone and puts St. Louis at the center of both of the Pentagon’s sixth-generation fighter programs.

For Schmitt, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the announcement comes after a push that included working with the Trump administration and Navy, backing nearly $2 billion in congressional funding and advocating for the next generation of American fighter aircraft to continue running through St. Louis.

“From McDonnell Douglas to Boeing, St. Louis is again ready and committed to delivering combat airpower for our warfighters,” Schmitt said.

The F/A-XX win comes after President Donald Trump selected Boeing in March 2025 to develop and produce the Air Force’s F-47 next-generation fighter.

Together, the two decisions give Boeing responsibility for developing both of the U.S. military’s sixth-generation fighter aircraft, and give St. Louis a fighter production pipeline that could stretch decades into the future.

Schmitt’s office said the senator worked closely with the Navy and Trump administration to bring the F/A-XX program to St. Louis while pushing Congress to keep the program funded.

That included $750 million to accelerate the Navy’s F/A-XX program, $972 million in FY2026 appropriations for its development and another $68.5 million authorized for F/A-XX development in the Senate’s FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

The F/A-XX program had faced an uncertain path.

After Boeing won the F-47 competition, the White House raised concerns in 2025 that moving both sixth-generation fighter programs forward simultaneously could stretch engineering and production capacity and potentially jeopardize the Air Force program.

Navy officials and members of Congress pushed to keep F/A-XX moving, arguing the fighter would be a critical part of the service’s future carrier air wing.

The program ultimately moved forward, and Boeing St. Louis landed the contract.

Schmitt also worked with Trump on implementation and funding for the F-47 program in St. Louis, according to his office, giving the Missouri senator a role in securing two of the most consequential long-term defense programs to land in the state in years.

“Today’s announcement by the Department of War and President Trump to award Boeing the F/A-XX contract, following last year’s decision to build the Air Force’s F-47 in St. Louis, is a testament to Missouri’s decades-long history of producing the best capabilities for our military, cementing St. Louis as ‘Fighterland USA’,” Schmitt said.

The Navy contract gives Boeing more than $20 billion for the full-scale development phase of F/A-XX, including multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems and weapons integration testing.

The Navy expects the aircraft to begin flying in the 2030s.

Much about F/A-XX remains classified, but the aircraft is expected to eventually replace the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler. The fighter is expected to have greater range than the Navy’s current aircraft and serve as a stealthy centerpiece of the future carrier air wing.

It will be a separate aircraft from the Air Force’s F-47 rather than a common platform shared between the two services.

For Boeing, winning both programs represents a major reversal in the outlook for its fighter business. Before the F-47 award in 2025, the company faced questions about what would follow the F-15 and F/A-18 as those production lines moved closer to their eventual ends.

Instead, Boeing beat Lockheed Martin for the F-47 and Northrop Grumman for F/A-XX, leaving the company as the prime contractor developing both American sixth-generation fighters. Lockheed will continue producing the fifth-generation F-35.

For Missouri, that means St. Louis will move from its decades-long history of producing aircraft like the F-15 and F/A-18 into developing the aircraft expected to define the next generation of American airpower.

For Schmitt, it provides a tangible Missouri win from his position on the Armed Services Committee: billions in defense investment, a long-term future for advanced military aircraft work in St. Louis and two marquee fighter programs centered in his home state.

“With modernized systems and promising new capabilities, F/A-XX and F-47 production will create more opportunities to attract engineering and technology talent to Missouri,” Schmitt said. “This decision also underscores the need to invest in solidifying America’s advantage over any enemy.”

The Pentagon has described F/A-XX as a critical part of its future airpower strategy, designed to extend the Navy’s operational reach and provide greater capabilities in contested airspace.

But the Missouri implications are just as significant. Boeing’s two victories mean St. Louis is now positioned to play a central role in developing both of the Pentagon’s sixth-generation fighter platforms.

And after helping push funding and support for both programs, Schmitt is embracing the result as a major win for Missouri.

“I look forward to working with the Administration and my colleagues in the Senate to ensure the successful development and production of both platforms as we maintain peace through strength on the world stage,” Schmitt said.