News Brief
Pentagon Awards Boeing Contract For Sixth-Generation Air Dominance Fighter F-47, Successor To F-22 Raptor
F-47 Sixth-Gen Fighter Aircraft (artist rendering)
United States President Donald Trump on Friday (21 March) announced the F-47, the US Air Force’s first sixth-generation fighter jet which has been developed under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme.
The aircraft is designed to enhance US air superiority with advanced capabilities in stealth, sensor fusion, and autonomous operations.
Intended to eventually replace the Air Force's fleet of F-22 Raptors, the NGAD platform is a network-connected family of systems — including a stealth fighter jet component, drone technology and others — that simultaneously interact to ensure air superiority.
"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," Trump said.
He added that the aircraft portion of the platform will be designated the F-47.
The Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the NGAD fighter contract has been awarded to Boeing, according to a US Air Force announcement.
The selection marks a shift in fighter jet procurement, as Lockheed Martin has traditionally led previous programs such as the F-22 and F-35.
"In terms of all of the attributes of a fighter jet, there's never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability, to what it can have, to payload. And this has been in the works for a long period of time,” Trump said.
“America’s enemies will never see it coming," he added.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that this was a big day for the warfighters.
He added that due to this sixth-generation fighter, America will have generations of air dominance.
"[The F-47] sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we're not going anywhere and to our enemies that we can, and we will, be able to project power around the globe, unimpeded, for generations to come," he added.
The ability of NGAD's fighter jet component to interact with drone technology will allow more lethality and modernized capability than in previous weapons systems, US Air Force chief General David W Allvin said at the press conference.
"[NGAD] is allowing us to look into the future and unlock the magic that is human-machine teaming," Allvin said. "We're going to write the next generation of modern aerial warfare with this."
He added that the way the Air Force has assembled the NGAD program will give the government more control, allowing the platform to be updated and adapted "at the speed of relevance [and] at the speed of technology."
Additionally, the F-47 will cost less than the F-22, be more adaptable to future threats and "have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters," Allvin said via a press release following the announcement at the White House.
