A batwing-style fighter concept promising blistering Mach 4 performance has muscled into the US Navy’s next-generation carrier jet competition, challenging the dominance of traditional primes. The SM-39 Razor, a radical triple-body design from Stavatti Aerospace, aims to leapfrog current thinking on speed, survivability, and range for the service’s future F/A-XX program. Its arrival turns what had been a two-horse race into a test of how far the Navy is willing to push the envelope on risk and innovation.
Instead of a conventional single-fuselage layout, the SM-39 Razor wraps its engines and weapons in a blended, bat-like wing that looks closer to science fiction than to today’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The concept’s backers argue that only a clean-sheet configuration like this can deliver sustained Mach 4 performance from a carrier deck, but the gap between digital renderings and a combat-ready jet remains vast.
The dark-horse entrant in the F/A-XX race
The Navy’s F/A-XX effort has largely been framed as a contest between established giants, with Boeing and Northrop positioned as the leading contenders to replace the Super Hornet. That narrative shifted when a lesser-known American firm, Stavatti Aerospace, publicly pitched its SM-39 Razor as an alternative vision for the carrier air wing of the 2030s and beyond. In social media posts and technical briefs, the company has cast itself as a disruptor willing to challenge the incremental approach favored by legacy contractors.
Earlier this year, reports highlighted how Stavatti Aerospace had entered the Navy competition with a proposal that immediately stirred debate over feasibility. The company is not a household name in defense aviation, which makes its decision to go head-to-head with entrenched players all the more striking. For the Navy, the question is whether bringing in a dark horse can inject fresh ideas without jeopardizing schedule and technical risk.
A triple-body “Batwing” built for Mach 4
At the heart of the SM-39 Razor pitch is a striking triple-fuselage layout that connects a central cockpit pod to two outer bodies with a broad, blended wing, giving the aircraft its bat-like silhouette. Renderings show the design as a low-observable platform with internal weapons bays and deeply buried engines, all integrated into the wing structure to minimize radar returns. Analysts have noted that the unusual geometry is not just for show, it is intended to combine high lift, stealth shaping, and large internal volume in a single airframe.
The company’s own material describes the SM-39 concept as unapologetically ambitious, with Stavatti emphasizing a low-observable triple-body configuration and advanced propulsion. Coverage of the project has repeatedly highlighted the “SM-39” designation, with the number 39 attached to a concept that aims to push a carrier-based fighter to Mach 4. Technical descriptions also point to a titanium-foam blended wing and other exotic structural choices, details that have been showcased in video segments labeled Watch and Live to underline the concept’s visual impact.
Speed claims and the Mach 4 debate
What truly sets the SM-39 Razor apart is its advertised top speed. Stavatti Aerospace has promoted the aircraft as a Mach 4 platform, a figure that would place it far beyond today’s front-line fighters and into a realm usually associated with experimental aircraft and missiles. In one widely cited comparison, Stavatti Aerospace Says-39 Razor Could Outrun F-47, explicitly tying the design to a Mach 4 performance envelope and positioning it as a “rocket fighter” concept.
Other reporting on the program has echoed those claims, describing how New Challenger Emerges
How the Razor fits into Navy strategy
The Navy’s requirements for F/A-XX are shaped by a global threat picture that extends well beyond a single adversary. Service leaders have argued that the next carrier fighter must be able to operate against advanced air defenses in multiple theaters, with one analysis stressing that the future jet is needed for adversaries like Iran, not just China and Russia. That perspective has been tied to legislative momentum, with Congress now pushing ahead with measures to accelerate the Navy program and keep pressure on the industrial base.
Within that context, the SM-39 Razor is being pitched not just as a fast jet, but as a platform that could reshape how the Navy projects power from the sea. Advocates argue that a Batwing configuration with extreme speed and range could help carriers survive in contested zones by striking from farther away and outrunning interceptors. At the same time, critics point out that the Navy already has a demanding wish list for F/A-XX, and layering Mach 4 performance on top of stealth, networking, and affordability may stretch the program beyond what is realistic.
Hype, skepticism, and what comes next
The arrival of the SM-39 Razor has clearly unsettled the existing F/A-XX narrative, but it has also triggered a wave of skepticism. Commentators have noted that Technology Innovation coverage of the project underscores how unusual it is for a relatively small firm to promise such a leap in capability. Others have framed the debate as a test of hype versus hard engineering, especially given that the competition is already dominated by Boeing and Northrop, companies with decades of carrier aviation experience.
From my perspective, the SM-39 Razor functions as a stress test for how open the Navy and its political overseers are to radical ideas in a high-stakes program. The concept’s repeated use of the number 39 in its designation, its Batwing silhouette, and its Mach 4 marketing all signal a deliberate attempt to stand apart from more conservative designs. Whether that strategy results in a flying prototype or remains a digital curiosity will depend on how convincingly Stavatti Aerospace can translate its renderings and claims into hardware that meets the Navy’s exacting standards.
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