New Delhi: The US Navy’s secretive sixth-generation fighter jet programme will see three big companies competing for the contract. Listed as the F/A-XX, the secret project will be the replacement for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet deck plane. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing are competing for the contract. This was officially announced by the US Navy.

Lockheed Martin is the manufacturer of the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft for the US Air Force and the F-35 for the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps. The company also builds the modernised fourth-generation F-16V Block 70/72 aircraft. Boeing is the manufacturer of the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornet deck-mounted fighter. If the company wins the contract, work on the sixth-generation aircraft programme will take place at the St Louis plant. Northrop Grumman for several years has been working on the next-generation B-21 Raider nuclear bomber. Unveiled last year, the US Air Force could sign the first contract by year end.

These three companies were expected to be competing for the NGAD project, which is developing a sixth-generation fighter for the US Air Force to replace the F-22 Raptor. However, Northrop Grumman has officially announced that it is not bidding for the role of prime contractor. Separately, Pratt & Whitney and GE Aerospace will compete to develop the powerplant for the F/A-XX.