Illustration of the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter aircraft | Graphic Art: U.S. Air Force
In a major victory for Boeing, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday the selection of the aerospace giant as the prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter program, officially designated the F-47, calling it ‘the world’s first sixth generation fighter jet.’
“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, number six, sixth generation,” said Trump, adding, “After a rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies, the Air Force is going to be awarding the contract for the next generation air dominance platform to Boeing.”
Scope of Contract
A U.S. Air Force statement attributed to Chief of Staff General David Allvin said, “The Department of the Air Force announced today the contract award for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform, marking a major milestone in the advancement of air superiority. The contract, awarded to Boeing, will lead to the development of the F-47, the world’s first sixth-generation fighter aircraft.”
According to the U.S. Air Force, this first ‘contract award funds the engineering and manufacturing development phase, which includes maturing, integrating, and testing all aspects of the F-47,’ in addition to the production of ‘a small number of test aircraft for evaluation’ and ‘competitively priced options for low-rate initial production.’
NGAD Replacement for F-22
The NGAD fighter is intended to replace the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-22 air-superiority stealth fighter aircraft, which entered service in 2005. It’s worth noting the F-22 was inducted as a replacement for the F-15, but as it turned out, Boeing is delivering an upgraded version — the F-15EX — to the U.S. Air Force.
According to a January 2025 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, this new fighter is part of the NGAD program, which is designed as a ‘family of systems,’ combining crewed and uncrewed aircraft. These systems include:
- The NGAD fighter, now selected and designated the F-47,
- Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which are uncrewed, semiautonomous drones flying as “loyal wingman” to the F-47 NGAD fighter or other fighter aircraft, as well as,
- A new engine for the F-47 NGAD fighter under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program, for which ‘General Electric is developing a variable-cycle XA-102 engine prototype and Pratt & Whitney is designing an XA103 engine prototype.’
The U.S. Air Force said that compared to its existing F-22 and F-35 fifth generation fighters, “The F-47 will have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability,” and “will take significantly less manpower and infrastructure to deploy.”
The CRS report held up observations by some analysts that ‘in a fight against China, where islands off its coast are separated by hundreds of miles, the F-22 (which entered service in 2005) may be constrained by its 460-mile nautical range, and 2,000-pound payload capacity.’ The report added, ‘For greater range, the F-22 relies on U.S. aerial refuelling tankers such as the KC-46 and KC-135, which may be vulnerable to attack. For at least a decade, the Air Force has studied F-22 replacements that could confront such a threat.’
In apparent reference to the first flights of two new Chinese next generation aircraft in December, General Allvin’s statement said, “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.“
Contract Value & Secret Flight Testing
While the total cost of the NGAD fighter program remains undisclosed, estimates suggest it could reach $20 billion. Trump declined to reveal specifics, saying, “We’ve given an order for a lot. We can’t tell you the price because it would give, it would give way to some of the technology and some of the size of the planes, good size plane.”
But significantly, Trump did reveal that the F-47 program is far more advanced than commonly understood. “An experimental version of the plane has secretly been flying for almost five years, and we’re confident that it massively overpowers the capabilities of any other nation,” he said.
It further appears that the U.S. Air Force has built and flown multiple models of the new aircraft and said in its statement, “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.”
The U.S. Air Force plans to induct the aircraft within Trump’s term. “A new fleet of these magnificent planes will be built and in the air during my administration over the next couple of years. It’s ready to go. They’ve already built much of what has to be built in terms of production, including the sheds,” said Trump.
General Allvin said, “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,” adding that the new aircraft has ‘unprecedented maturity.’
Lower Cost, Larger Fleet & Export Version
The U.S. Air Force expects the F-47 to cost less than its predecessor and plans to buy them in larger numbers than the F-22 fleet of 183 aircraft.
“Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats – and we will have more of the F-47s in our inventory,” said the statement by General Allvin.
The CRS report said ‘The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2018 that the NGAD airframe could cost up to $300 million apiece.’ Total program costs for the F-22 brought the unit cost up to $334 million per aircraft.
It also noted, ‘In 2009, then Defense Secretary Robert Gates truncated the purchase of F-22s from 750 to 187 aircraft.’ A total of five aircraft from the fleet are understood as lost in crashes through its service, so far.
Unlike the F-22, the U.S. plans to make a version of the F-47 NGAD available for export, according to Trump, who said, ”Our allies are calling constantly, they want to buy them also and we’ll — certain allies we’ll be selling them, perhaps toned down versions. We like to tone them down about 10%, which probably makes sense, because someday maybe they’re not our allies, right?”
Boeing’s First Original Fighter Since 1932
The contract is a big win for the beleaguered Boeing, which defeated Lockheed Martin for the NGAD award after Northrop Grumman withdrew from the contest in 2023.
DAYTON, Ohio — Boeing P-26A at the National Museum of the United States Air Force | Photo: U.S. Air Force
The F-47 will be the first production fighter aircraft Boeing has designed from scratch since the P-26A Peashooter in 1932. Although Boeing has manufactured fighters like the F-15 and F/A-18, those designs originated from McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing acquired in 1997.
Before the X-32 stealth prototype in 2000 (which lost the F-35 contest), Boeing’s last in-house fighter design was the XF8B-1, a carrier-based, multi-role fighter-bomber from 1944 that was cancelled before entering production because of the end of the Second World War.
47
The ’47’ in the F-47 designation is partly a reference to Trump being the 47th president of the United States, with which he was obviously pleased. He said, “The generals picked the title. And it’s a beautiful number, F-47.”
General Allvin gave a more complete explanation, saying, “The F-47 designation was chosen in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and carries multiple significant meanings. It honours the legacy of the P-47, whose contributions to air superiority during World War II remain historic. Also, the number pays tribute to the founding year of our incredible Air Force, while also recognising the 47th President’s pivotal support for the development of the world’s FIRST sixth-generation fighter.”
Trump’s Goes Off-Script
Following the announcement, President Trump made an unexpected remark, saying, “So we had a big day. We gave out the world’s greatest fighter jet by far, they say. I think in terms of every criteria known to man it’s the best. Now that doesn’t mean in five years, it’ll be good. It’ll be — It’ll be totally obsolete in five years, I guess. But that’s the way it works. There’s never been a plane designed or made like this in and we’ll have them within about a two-year period. They’re going to start manufacturing very soon.”
U.S. Navy NGAD F/A-XX Contest
The U.S. Navy is also looking for a next generation fighter to replace the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics are contenders for credible proposals.
Discover more from StratPost
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
