Stealth Boondoggle: Why the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX Fighter Fantasy Broke the Pentagon

Stealth Boondoggle: Why the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX Fighter Fantasy Broke the Pentagon

The 2026 defense landscape is defined by a brutal tug-of-war between legacy carrier-based ambitions and the "all-in" prioritization of the Boeing F-47. While the Navy views the F/A-XX as a prerequisite for the carrier’s continued relevance, the Trump Administration has made it clear that the U.S. defense industrial base—already cracking under the strain of 1980s-era procurement models—cannot sustain two simultaneous "boutique" air superiority pr…