
AI-generated summary
The announcement continues a pattern of major defense contracts awarded to Boeing during the second Trump administration, following the March 2025 selection for a new Air Force stealth fighter.
The Pentagon has chosen Boeing to build the US Navy’s next-generation fighter jets in a contract valued at US$20 billion, officials announced Tuesday.
The contract is to produce F/A-XX aircraft or “strike fighters” under the “Next Generation Air Dominance Program,” a Pentagon statement said, adding that the new jets would replace the legacy Super Hornets fleet beginning in the 2030s.
The announcement marks the second time Boeing has been selected by the Pentagon during the second Trump administration for a sixth-generation weapons system. In March 2025, Trump announced the US Air Force chose the storied aerospace giant to build a new stealth fighter.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Boeing will begin development and testing of the F/A-XX prototype within the next 2-3 years
Likely · Within years
The US Navy will retire the last Super Hornets from active service by the mid-2030s
Possible · Within years

After the U.S. Navy canceled the mass production of the Constellation-class frigate, the original contractor Fincantieri planned to re-bid with FREMM EVO, arguing that using a mature design can shorten the construction time and utilize existing U.S. shipbuilding facilities. However, the final decision will still be announced after the U.S. military evaluates foreign frigate designs.

The United Kingdom and the United States held the "Atlantic Thunder 2026" sinking exercise in the North Atlantic, using the decommissioned US Perry-class frigate USS Clarklin as the target ship, mobilizing surface ships, submarines, fighter jets and patrol aircraft to take turns firing. The U.S. military used standard six-type missiles to conduct over-the-horizon anti-ship strikes, and finally the nuclear submarine USS Massachusetts launched a Mk 48 heavy-duty torpedo, which hit and sunk the ship. The exercise aims to verify joint detection, target acquisition and live-fire firing capabilities, and collect battle damage data to analyze the actual damage effects of weapons on the ship's hull.

Taiwan’s military plans to spend over NT$27 billion (US$850 million) over six years to quadruple critical ammunition stocks from 30 to 120 days’ supply, aiming to sustain combat operations during a potential wartime blockade. The proposal, revealed on September 26, requires legislative approval and includes NT$7.3 billion in supplementary funding for this year and another NT$7.3 billion proposed for 2027.

In order to cooperate with the Kaohsiung New Taiwan Route 17 project, the Naval Zuoying Base will move the 75-year-old Zhongzheng Post to the west. The new Zhongzheng Post is scheduled to be opened today. The old post will be handed over to the city government to be merged into the road project and officially decommissioned, marking a historic change in the Zuoying Naval Base's gateway function.

China has launched a rare air force support and training centre in Laos at Ban Keun Airport, comprising the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy, aimed at training Laotian Air Force pilots, with joint operation and maintenance by both sides, though details on personnel and equipment remain undisclosed.

The U.S. Navy has launched the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Centre in Virginia to integrate unmanned systems into naval doctrine, training, and combat operations, moving beyond prototype testing to operational capability.