Why FAXX could be the last manned fighter for the Navy
Updates on the FAXX program and looking back on an Apollo mission
“The only easy day was yesterday.”
US Navy SEALs
We will get to the regular features of the newsletter shortly, but first a quick note about a milestone for this publication: 100 weeks. This issue is the 100th consecutive week that “Hangar Flying with Tog” or HWFT has been published. When I started this newsletter nearly 2 years ago, I didn’t really know what to expect and as with most things in life there were certain weeks where it was very challenging to write copy for that weekly deadline. And again, as it is with many long term or ongoing undertakings some weeks had better content than others - it’s just the way things turn out. What I did tell myself was that no matter what - even at the expense of making a YouTube video - I would not miss a deadline. In many ways, it has paid off, and I continue to hold myself to this standard. Being accountable changes your priorities and even outlook on life (I promise we will get to the aviation content in a minute) and I’d like to think that my videos have benefited as well as a result of my commitment to writing this column once a week. I am truly honored and humbled that over 3,000 of you chose to read this each and every week. Thank you, and here’s to the next 100 issues (episodes?) of HFWT. If you have any feedback, comments, critiques (even in the form of a lengthy squawk sheet) or suggestions, please leave them below as a comment. Thank you, and on to the FAXX:
Mission Briefing: The Navy’s Last Manned Fighter?
At the recent Sea Air Space conference in National Harbor, Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly dropped a bombshell: the F/A-XX, the Navy’s next-generation fighter, might be the last tactical manned jet the service ever fields.
Let that sink in. Over 100 years of fighter Naval Aviation could be drawing to a close in the next few decades - could the FAXX signal the end of an era?
Designed as a sixth-generation platform, F/A-XX is expected to usher in a new era of naval airpower—one where manned jets work side by side with autonomous drone wingmen, known as collaborative combat aircraft or CCAs. With artificial intelligence and machine learning baked into its core systems, this aircraft won’t just fly smarter—it’ll empower pilots to make faster, more informed decisions in complex, high-stakes environments.
“This could be our last tactical manned fighter,” Donnelly said. “F/A-XX will be the bridge to a hybrid air wing where manned and unmanned platforms operate seamlessly—possibly by the 2040s.”
Its no secret that since the US Navy retired the F-14 Tomcat, carrier air wings have missed the big cat’s long range and loiter time. Compared to today’s fighters, the F/A-XX promises a leap in performance. Not only will it dominate contested environments with next-level situational awareness, it’s also expected to fly 25% farther than current Navy fighters before needing a tanker. For reference, the Super Hornet’s range is around 1,275 nautical miles, and the F-35C clocks in at just over 1,200.
That extended range could be critical as naval forces prepare for operations across the vast expanse of the Indo-Pacific, where distances can easily be thousands of miles, not hundreds.
While there’s no official announcement yet, rumors are swirling that we’re close to finding out who will build the F/A-XX. I personally cannot wait and will have a video underway as soon as we do find out! With Lockheed Martin reportedly out of the running, all eyes are now on Boeing and Northrop Grumman. It’s worth noting that Boeing recently landed the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance contract, unveiling the F-47 in March.
Stay tuned—things are about to get very interesting in the skies over America’s carriers.
This Week in Aviation History
Orion Touches Down in the Descartes Highlands
At precisely 02:23 UTC, April 21, 1972, the Lunar Module Orion made a rugged, unforgettable landing on the Moon’s Descartes Highlands. Inside were two men trained for precision under pressure: Captain John W. Young, USN, and Lt. Colonel Charles Duke, USAF—the ninth and tenth humans to ever set foot on another world.
Their descent wasn’t smooth. Three full orbits of delays plagued their final approach, testing nerves and systems alike. Meanwhile, orbiting above in the command module Casper, Lt. Commander Ken Mattingly waited—and watched.
As Orion descended, lunar dust kicked up at about 80 feet, obscuring visibility. Duke calmly called out the countdown:
"Okay, 2 down... let her on down… Okay, 7… 6 percent [fuel remaining]... Contact! Stop... Boom."
The “boom” wasn’t dramatics—it was the LM literally falling the last three feet after engine shutdown, as John Young would later confirm:
“I counted ‘one-potato’ and shut the engine down. The thing fell out of the sky... I don’t know how much we were coming down, maybe a foot a second.”
Over the next 2 days, 23 hours, Young and Duke turned the Moon into their proving ground. They completed three EVAs totaling 20 hours, covering 16.6 miles in their Lunar Roving Vehicle, and setting records for the longest stay and farthest distance traveled on the lunar surface at the time.
Then, on April 24, a remote camera caught the ascent stage of Orion lifting off, a fiery trail marking their return to lunar orbit and history.
It was a moment of grit, gravity, and glory—one final roar from Apollo’s golden age before the program bowed out.
In Case You Missed It
B-2 Bombers in Diego Garcia, and what that means:
Photo Outlet
Every issue of Hangar Flying with Tog gets you a free image that I’ve taken at airshows:
Feel free to use these photos however you like, if you choose to tag me, I am @pilotphotog on all social platforms. Thanks!
Post Flight Debrief
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-Tog