Pentagon Will ‘Accelerate’ Navy Fighter Despite Early Reluctance

The Pentagon will accelerate development of a next-generation stealth fighter jet for the Navy after previously pushing back — a move that could benefit either Boeing Co. or Northrop Grumman Corp., which are competing to build the aircraft.

The White House has now green-lit a Pentagon plan to move forward with the Navy jet program known as the “F/A-XX,” according to a Pentagon document sent to Congress recently that was obtained by Bloomberg Government.

That’s despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reluctance over concerns the defense industrial base couldn’t handle developing two so-called sixth-generation fighter jets simultaneously, with Boeing ...