On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that aerospace giant Boeing was awarded a contract for the F-47, which will be the future air superiority fighter for the United States Air Force. It came just months after comments by some Air Force officials put into question the Pentagon’s commitment to the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the systems of the systems that included a sixth-generation manned fighter to replace the aging fleet of Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors.
“I’m thrilled to announce that, at my direction, the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet … Nothing in the world comes even close to it,” President Trump said.
As it was just one system of systems, the head of the Air Force was quick to tout the fact that the F-47 should be seen as much more than just an advanced fighter.
“With the F-47, we are not just building another fighter – we are shaping the future of warfare and putting our enemies on notice. This platform will be the most advanced, lethal, and adaptable fighter ever developed – designed to outpace, outmaneuver, and outmatch any adversary that dares to challenge our brave Airmen,” explained Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David Allvin.
“Despite what our adversaries claim, the F-47 is truly the world’s first crewed sixth-generation fighter, built to dominate the most capable peer adversary and operate in the most perilous threat environments imaginable. For the past five years, the X-planes for this aircraft have been quietly laying the foundation for the F-47 — flying hundreds of hours, testing cutting-edge concepts, and proving that we can push the envelope of technology with confidence. These experimental aircraft have demonstrated the innovations necessary to mature the F-47’s capabilities, ensuring that when we committed to building this fighter, we knew we were making the right investment for America.”
X-Planes Explained
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency further noted the role that X-planes – the series of experimental aircraft and rockets that have been used to test and evaluate new technologies and aerodynamic concepts – were employed in the development of the NGAD’s manned aircraft.
“Under research and development contracts with DARPA, Boeing and Lockheed Martin designed two X-planes as risk reduction for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. These aircraft first flew in 2019 and 2022, logging several hundred hours each,” DARPA explained.
Its “Air Dominance Initiative study” was launched in 2014, and resulted in the agency’s Aerospace Innovation Initiative.
“It is often only in future decades when DARPA’s disruptive impact can be unveiled – today, we’re proud to be able to share the 10-year DARPA research arc that has culminated in the F-47 program, defining the next era of American air dominance,” said DARPA Acting Director Rob McHenry.
There had been much hype in December and then again last week after China’s believed sixth-generation fighter – dubbed the J-36 by military analysts although its actual designation isn’t known – was spotted flying over Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s (CAC’s) headquarters in Chengdu, Sichuan province. That had led to speculation that Beijing had leapfrogged Washington with China making a great leap forward towards air dominance.
However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, and it is believed that the first test flight of the F-47 and competing prototypes may have flown years ago.
“While our X-planes were flying in the shadows, we were cementing our air dominance – accelerating the technology, refining our operational concepts, and proving that we can field this capability faster than ever before. Because of this, the F-47 will fly during President Trump’s administration,” Allvin added.
“In addition, the F-47 has unprecedented maturity,” the Air Force chief of staff continued. “While the F-22 is currently the finest air superiority fighter in the world, and its modernization will make it even better, the F-47 is a generational leap forward. The maturity of the aircraft at this phase in the program confirms its readiness to dominate the future fight.”
Allvin said the F-47 would be more effective than the F-22 – a point that is critical to note as the high cost of the Raptor program during George W. Bush’s administration led to the program being significantly scaled back. Moreover, it will be adaptable to future threats, while offering “significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters. This platform is designed with a “built to adapt” mindset and will take significantly less manpower and infrastructure to deploy.”
A Big Win for Boeing
After Northrop Grumman announced that it was withdrawing from the program last year, the NGAD program came down to either Boeing or Lockheed Martin, with the latter producing the F-35 Lightning II in three variations for the U.S. military – including a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) for the Air Force, a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) version for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a carrier-capable model for the U.S. Navy and USMC.
However, Boeing – which produces the F-15EX Eagle II for the Air Force and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the U.S. Navy – came out on top. The news also comes just weeks after it was announced that Lockheed Martin is out of the running for the sea service’s F/A-XX program that seeks to develop the Super Hornet’s eventual replacement. That program will come down to either Boeing or Northrop Grumman, with the latter being seen as the long shot given that it is now focused on the B-21 Raider strategic bomber, while Northrop’s last solely designed fighter to win a contract was the F-5G/F-20 Tigershark during the 1980s.
During the same era, Northrop also jointly developed the FY-23 with McDonnell Douglas (now owned by Boeing) for the Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program but lost out to the aforementioned F-22 Raptor. However, the Grumman half of the now-merged company did produce the famed F-14 Tomcat, the aircraft made famous by Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
Boeing is now producing the final block of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the Navy, with deliveries expected to be concluded by the end of 2027. Thanks to the F-47, the aerospace company can expect its production facilities to remain at full capacity for years, possibly decades, to come.
