With 27 MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters delivered so far, the latest award brings the total number of aircraft under contract to 42.
Boeing Defense has been awarded a contract for four more MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, marking the aircraft’s entry into full-rate production, the company announced on Sept. 29, 2026. The award, whose value was not disclosed, comes a month after the U.S. Air Force announced the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the helicopter.
In Sept. 29 statement and a subsequent statement on Oct. 1, Boeing said it has so far delivered 27 MH-139As, which include 20 low-rate initial production (LRIP) airframes. The latest award brings the total number of Grey Wolves under contract to 42.
This was the program of record established after the Air Force reduced in 2024 its planned procurement from 80 aircraft to 42. The service subsequently increased its program objective to 56 aircraft in its FY2026 budget.
Strengthening the pack!
Thank you, @USAirForce, for advancing our partnership to provide four additional MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters. With full-rate production and Initial Operational Capability, #TeamBoeing is proud to deliver mission-ready capability.
The MH-139A is primarily meant to replace the UH-1N Huey in the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) security and convoy support roles. According to Air and Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force had also planned to use them for aircrew survival training and contingency response in the Washington D.C. area, where the 1st Helicopter Squadron (1st HS) still flies UH-1N Huey.
Boeing’s vice president and general manager for the Vertical Lift Program, Kathleen Jolivette, said the full rate production milestone “validates key readiness levels for Grey Wolf and supports the service’s fielding plans to secure vital national assets across the country’s strategic missile fields.”
“Adding these aircraft to the production queue brings additional momentum to ongoing fielding and modernization efforts,” Jolivette added.
A U.S. Air Force MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter, from the 908th Flying Training Wing, flies over Downtown Montgomery, July 17, 2025. | Source: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Kamiyah Burks
Grey Wolf contracts and deliveries
Boeing announced its first award for the Grey Wolf, worth $2.4 billion, on Sept. 24, 2018, covering 84 helicopters. The first aircraft was delivered in December 2019 at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, to begin developmental testing prior to Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation (IOT&E) at Malmstrom AFB.
The company announced on Aug. 29, 2022 that it had delivered four Grey Wolf test aircraft to the Air Force. This followed Boeing receiving a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate, as the program was progressing towards Milestone C.
In April 2024, Boeing was awarded a $178 million contract for seven more MH-139A helicopters, which included the first set of aircraft meant for Minot AFB, North Dakota.
An MH-139A Grey Wolf flying over fields. | Source: Boeing
In October 2025, Boeing also received a $173 million contract for eight additional helicopters, raising the total number under contract to 34. At the time, Boeing had delivered 18 aircraft, of which 12 were part of a 2023 $285 million Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract.
Budget allocations
After a setback in 2024 over cost overruns that triggered a Congressional review under the Nunn-McCurdy Act, the program picked up pace. The Trump administration’s July 2025 ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ included $210.3 million for an extra six MH-139As.
Then in the FY 2026 budget request, the Air Force raised its need for 56 Grey Wolves. To that end, the Air Force asked $253 million for the MH-139A in 2027 to cover four airframes.
However, lawmakers in the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized $128 million and four more helicopters, for a total of $380 million for eight helicopters.
The MH-139A participated in its first Nuclear Convoy Course (NCC). A weeklong exercise in Wyoming to ensure the safe and secure transport of nuclear weapons and materials.
The need for the Grey Wolf became even more acute with the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM program, with the Huey having been in service for around 40 years. The Grey Wolf’s improved speed, range, payload and modern avionics are better suited for the extensive support infrastructure needed for the Sentinel as the service transitions from the current Minuteman III ICBM.
In its latest release, Boeing said it “continues to work closely with the U.S. Air Force to deliver adaptable, mission-ready and reliable capabilities for decades to come.”
Key takeaways Boeing heeft contracten binnengehaald voor zowel de volgende generatie gevechtsvliegtuigprogramma’s van de luchtmacht als die van de marine. Een onlangs vrijgegeven afbeelding van de F/A-XX biedt nieuwe aanwijzingen over het toekomstige stealthvliegtuig van de marine. Aangezien deze afbeeldingen zijn gemaakt voor een strikt geheim project, bevatten ze waarschijnlijk opzettelijke onnauwkeurigheden om buitenlandse inlichtingendiensten […]
The new award is a step towards the Air Force’s planned fleet of 267 F-15EXs, replacing the aging F-15C/D Eagle and also beginning the recapitalization of the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet.
As The Aviationist had reported, the larger acquisition will allow the service to begin the recapitalization of the aging F-15E Strike Eagle fleet, in addition to replacing the F-15C/D Eagle which the F-15EX was originally meant to supplant. The award of the new contract also comes on the same day Boeing was chosen by the Navy for its F/A-XX next-generation fighter jet, after being selected last year for the Air Force’s F-47 NGAD.
Air and Space Forces Magazine, considering the $2.38 billion contract value disclosed by Boeing, estimated an average cost per airframe of $108 million. This value does not include the GE Aerospace F110-GE-129 engines, which the Air Force will purchase separately.
Boeing, for its part, said that it is currently delivering Lot 3 aircraft, and will continue for the remainder of this year. The deliveries of the Lot 3 started earlier this month with the delivery of the EX-22. The company also added that it is working with the Department of War (DoW) and the U.S. Air Force to hike F-15EX production to two aircraft a month.
The DoW also awarded on Sept. 29 another F-15EX-related contract to the Wisconsin-based Astronautics Corp. of America for the fighter’s engine fuel hydraulic display depot activation. The $10 million sole-source acquisition contract covers the “knowledge, skills and operational resources to independently perform depot-level repair of F-15EX engine fuel hydraulics display.” Work will be performed at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by October 2029.
F-15EX Lot 7 contract
Air & Space Forces Magazine also reported that the Sept. 29 contract came just before a deadline for using funds allocated through last year’s $2.8 billion ‘One Big Beautiful Act’ reconciliation package and the $115 million in the FY 2026 budget. The Trump administration’s 2025 reconciliation bill mandated a reduction of the allotted funds by 8.3% if they were not spent by Oct. 1, creating pressure to award the contract to Boeing before the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.
The press release by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) reflected the urgency in closing the deal with Boeing:
“Through focused, complex negotiations, the F-15 Program Office and Boeing reached an agreement that maintains the procurement of all 22 Lot 7 aircraft within available funding […] This award followed extensive collaboration among program management, contracting, pricing, engineering, financial management, logistics and other acquisition professionals. The team assessed the impacts of changing production conditions and inflation, aligned the aircraft procurement with available funding, and completed the action before the fiscal-year deadline.”
A U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II designated for Kadena Air Base, Japan, flies en route to Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, after departing Boeing’s St. Louis facility, Aug. 28, 2026. | Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez
Portfolio Acquisition Executive for the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate Brig. Gen. Timothy Helfrich described the Lot 7 contract as a disciplined approach that balanced available resources and industrial capacity. “The team remained focused on affordability, production continuity and delivering the aircraft needed to modernize the U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet for the threats we face today and into the future,” Helfrich said in the release.
The release noted functional areas such as senior-level decisions, cost, schedule, and aircraft quantity that the team carefully accounted for before awarding the contract to Boeing.
“The Lot 7 award demonstrates what is possible when the acquisition enterprise moves with purpose, remains accountable to the taxpayer and stays focused on delivering capability to the warfighter,” said Col. Jonathan Varoli, System Program Manager of the directorate’s F-15 Program Office. “This effort brought together the right expertise, at the right time, to achieve an outcome that strengthens the F-15EX program and supports the future fighter force.”
Flying high for 5⃣!
Five years ago, the first #F15EX test jet flew. Since then, F-15EX has really taken off, completing hundreds of test flights and achieving several milestones — including Initial Operational Capability. Now, we’re delivering over 100 jets to the @USAirForce. pic.twitter.com/qwz6yEulL1
The F-15EX is the modern evolution of the twin-engine heavyweight multirole jet, featuring advanced avionics, large-area displays, digital backbone architecture and enhanced survivability capabilities. “It is intended to replace aging F-15C and F-15D aircraft while providing a platform for continued modernization as operational requirements evolve,” the Air Force said.
One of its defining features is the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), an electronic warfare suite that provides integrated radar warning, threat detection and advanced jamming and countermeasure capabilities.
Thanks to its capabilities, the F-15EX is also being introduced in the Indo-Pacific, with Kadena Air Base in Japan, home to the Air Force’s 18th Wing, selected as its first permanent overseas operating location.
Key takeaways De Amerikaanse marine heeft Boeing een contract ter waarde van 16,7 miljoen dollar (14,5 miljoen euro) gegund voor het coördineren van de ontmanteling van de productiefaciliteiten voor de EA-18G Growler en de F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Deze overeenkomst met een vaste prijs, gefinancierd uit de aankoopbudgetten voor 2024, verplicht het lucht- en ruimtevaartbedrijf tot […]
Key takeaways De Amerikaanse luchtmacht heeft haar vloot van F-15EX-gevechtsvliegtuigen uitgebreid via een nieuwe overeenkomst ter waarde van 2,38 miljard dollar met Boeing. Deze laatste aankoop van 22 straaljagers brengt het totale aantal bestelde vliegtuigen op 120, verdeeld over zeven verschillende productiebatches. Waarschijnlijk zal dat aantal nog verdubbeld worden, maar op de officiële bevestiging daarover […]
Key takeaways Het Amerikaanse ministerie van Oorlog heeft Boeing een contract van meer dan 20 miljard dollar toegekend voor de ontwikkeling van de F/A-XX, een zesde-generatie gevechtsvliegtuig dat is ontworpen voor vliegdekschepen. Deze overwinning betekent dat Boeing voor de tweede keer een project voor een gevechtsvliegtuig van de zesde generatie in de wacht heeft gesleept, […]
Boeing has won the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX competition for the sixth-generation carrier-based fighter, with a contract valued at more than $20B for the full-scale development phase.
After months of wait, the U.S. Navy has finally announced Boeing as the winner of the competition for the F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier-based fighter as part of the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. With the award, Boeing will now develop and build the NGAD crewed fighter jets of both the Navy and Air Force.
The highly anticipated award comes after an imminent announcement was reported multiple times since March 2025, with the program apparently stuck in a limbo. The last such report mentioned the Navy would announce its selection by the end of August 2026.
Earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Daryl Caudle warned that the Navy must accelerate development of F/A-XX to ensure it can penetrate future air defense environments over the next decade. “Our ability to fly with impunity with our existing airframes is fleeting,” Caudle said. “If I don’t start building that immediately, you’re not going to get it for some time.”
The announcement
In the statement released on Sept. 29, 2026, the Department of War said Boeing was awarded a contract valued at more than $20B for the full-scale development phase of F/A-XX. The contract covers multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing.
“The F/A-XX is a critical pillar in our commitment to maintaining peace through strength. F/A-XX will dominate contested airspace, extend operational reach, and deliver a decisive combat advantage for the warfighter,” said Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. “The F/A-XX platform represents a crucial, non-negotiable investment in America’s national security and long-term air combat capabilities. We are joining forces with Boeing to field these capabilities rapidly, ensuring our warfighters possess the lethal and highly networked systems required to deter aggression, project undisputed power, and secure absolute air superiority.”
A rendering of Boeing’s proposed F/A-XX design. | Source: Boeing
The F/A-XX is expected to provide advanced carrier-based power projection, further extending the range of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The new fighter jet will augment and eventually replace legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s, and operate alongside the F-35C and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
“This achievement marks a new era for the U.S. Navy,” said acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao. “The Sixth-Generation fighter is a generational leap in air superiority and will provide the world’s best aviators with unparalleled capabilities to fight, win, and come home safe. We are excited to partner with Boeing, and for our warfighters to continue to dominate the skies and defeat our nation’s enemies.”
6th-gen edge.
Thank you, @USNavy, for continuing our partnership to design, build and deliver your F/A-XX aircraft. We’re honored to produce the 6th-generation fighter that will revolutionize advancements in naval aviation to maintain U.S. carrier air superiority.
The statement released by Boeing puts emphasis on the company’s work on the NGAD programs of both the Navy and Air Force.
“Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly. We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs,” said Steve Parker, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
History of the F/A-XX program
The F/A-XX is the strike fighter component within the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems (FoS). The requirement for this aircraft has been around since 2008, with a formal Request for Information in 2012, to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in the 2030s.
A formation of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31 “Dust Devils” aircraft, including an EA-18G Growler, AV-8B Harrier II+, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, and an F/A-18D Hornet, flies over Point Mugu’s Sea Range in Californati during a photo exercise. | Source: U.S. Navy
Later, the F/A-XX was included in the service’s NGAD program, which is a separate program from the identically named Air Force program. The Navy says that its “specific capabilities and technologies are under development, however analysis shows it must have longer range and greater speed, incorporate passive and active sensor technology, and possess the capability to employ the longer-range weapons programmed for the future”.
The NGAD FoS will include unmanned platforms with F/A-XX as the quarterback, exploiting the Manned/UnManned Teaming (MUM-T) concept to reduce risk to the manned aircraft, while simultaneously increasing capability, capacity, and survivability. The new MQ-25 Stingray will be the first unmanned asset to employ this capability, extending the strike range and enhancing maneuverability of the Carrier Air Wing.
Continued development of MUM-T will enable information sharing across a distributed force, increasing survivability, reducing risk to manned aircraft, and ensuring weapons capacity. The Navy is evaluating the appropriate mix of F/A-XX, manned and unmanned platforms to ensure the most lethal and affordable CVW possible, depending also on the maturity of autonomy and Machine Learning technologies.
The Navy envisions future unmanned air vehicles with survivable planforms, sensors, and robust autonomy able to find, fix, identify, track, engage, and assess land, sea, and air targets. These UAVs will be employed alongside manned aircraft and unmanned attritable assets to enable integrated kinetic and non-kinetic fires at tactically relevant ranges in multidomain operations.
In a 2021 document, the Navy showed a fictional F/A-XX operating in a MUM-T environment with four drones, whose shape represents the MQ-25. Interestingly, the drones were shown employing Air-to-Air (AA), Electronic Warfare (EW) and Command and Control (C2) payloads, much like the Loyal Wingman drones currently being developed. This falls in line with the service envisioning Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) to fill refueling, communications relay, logistics, airborne electronic attack, strike, and ISR&T missions in the future air wing.
The F/A-XX placeholder design as shown by the U.S. Navy in its vision for 2030-2035, together with a better image of the original fictional design. (Images via U.S. Navy and Tapatalk) | Source: U.S. Navy
In 2024, in an interview released to Aviation Week, Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, director of the air warfare division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, said the Navy will develop its aircraft independently, a reverse of previous reports who said the Navy and Air Force would share the developments of their next generation aircraft programs.
The Navy’s decision to move forward independently might have shielded the F/A-XX from the results of the NGAD’s review and the subsequent decisions. The service is confident in the suitability and affordability of the F/A-XX and is committed to move forward with the program.
“We have to have an affordable platform to make it relevant to our force structure and force design, so we’ve got that in mind,” said Donnelly. “We think we’ve got an affordable solution that supports our force structure of the future.”
According to Donnelly, the F/A-XX program was on track for the Milestone B decision to move the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase by the end of fiscal year 2025.
“We feel really good through the concept development that we’ve got the right bracket for those requirements and the attributes we need to deliver the capability,” Donnelly says. “We’ll continue to look at that as we go through the next phases of the acquisition process and make smart decisions.”
An early artist’s render showing a hypothetical F/A-XX fighter-attack aircraft. | Source: Boeing
What F/A-XX Is Expected to Deliver
The Navy envisions F/A-XX as more than a simple replacement for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler. The new aircraft is expected to combine stealth, extended range, electronic warfare, and command-and-control functions into a single next-generation platform.
Navy officials previously said F/A-XX is expected to have approximately 25% more range than the F-35C, as well as more advanced jamming capabilities than the Growler. Moreover, it is also designed from the outset to control multiple Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), as noted by the CNO.
“The next-generation airframe, F/A-XX is so vital,” Caudle said. “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 for clandestine refueling and organic refueling from the carrier.”
The aircraft is therefore central to the Navy’s future carrier air wing concept to maintain the service’s ability to project power in high-threat environments. In this mix of crewed and uncrewed platforms, the F/A-XX will be the quarterback, often said the Navy.
Navy’s and Air Force’s NGAD relation
According to Rear Adm. Donnelly, the new carrier-based fighter will be affordable, versatile and independent of Air Force-funded technologies such as an adaptive-cycle turbofan engine. While the service already said it would require a different airframe than the Air Force’s NGAD, other systems to be included were not mentioned.
The second rendering of the U.S. Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. | Source: U.S. Air Force
Initially, the Navy appeared interested in the adaptive-cycle technology being developed for the Next-Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program. In the past decade, however, propulsion plans for the two services have diverged, according to Donnelly.
“We’re looking at more of a derivative-type engine solution,” said Donnelly. “That’s just one example where we probably are different in many ways from the Air Force. In totality, they are two unique programs from an acquisition point of view and also going forward, so we’re relatively independent of each other at this point.”
Both programs appear to be under budgetary pressure, as both services are currently working on multiple large programs. In the Navy’s case, the 2025 budget for the new aircraft suffered a cut of 67%, with the $10.3 billion requested between 2025 and 2028 reduced to just $3.3 billion. The senate voted to restore $450 million to the budget but, even if approved, there would still a cut of 59% compared with last year’s budget.
Earlier this year, lawmakers agreed on the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act to allocate $897 million specifically to F/A-XX, mandating the Pentagon to award a development contract aimed at accelerating initial operational capability. The wording used called out the Department of Defense for the slow pace of the program.
Another difference between the Navy’s and Air Force’s 6th gen fighter could be their roles. While the latter envisions its new aircraft mainly as an air superiority fighter, the Navy wants it to be multirole, optimized for air-to-surface strike but still capable of fleet defense.
“The central focus of its design is to be able to conduct long-range fires, sea control and those types of missions. Inherent in its design is its ability to participate in fleet defense,” Donnelly says. “We can’t afford to have a break-glass capability or a really unique single-mission or single-phase-of-operation focus.”
A final difference is the manned or unmanned debate. The Air Force left the door open for an optionally manned configuration, which was also the initial configuration proposed for the F/A-XX. However, the Navy has now opted for a fully manned platform.
“F/A-XX is intended to be a manned platform,” Donnelly says, noting that the “F/A-XX will really be our pivot point from a manned air wing to a hybrid future, with a manned-unmanned air wing.”
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