In the context of a press conference held at the White House, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, officially announced the selection of Boeing for the development and manufacturing of the future sixth-generation NGAD fighter aircraft, which will equip the U.S. Air Force. The future aircraft, which has received the official designation “F-47,” is intended to replace the current fifth-generation air superiority fighter, the F-22 Raptor.
Named Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), it is one of the U.S. Air Force’s most significant and ambitious programs, with the primary goal of replacing the F-22.
Although it was officially revealed in 2020, the competition for the development of this aircraft—unlike other large-scale competitions such as the Joint Strike Fighter program, which resulted in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 as the winner—has been shrouded in secrecy, along with fluctuations related to various cost concerns of the program and the aircraft’s price.
All these uncertainties were resolved with the recent announcement at the White House, where President Trump formally declared Boeing’s proposal as the winner of the competition. This proposal will equip the USAF with a new sixth-generation fighter, officially designated as the F-47.
The decision represents a significant boost for the American aerospace giant, which is currently advancing the production of the new F-15EX Eagle II and is nearing completion of the final F/A-18 Super Hornets for the U.S. Navy. This is a crucial point, as the St. Louis facilities could be repurposed and adapted to support the manufacturing of the new F-47.
For Lockheed Martin, this represents another setback for the other major U.S. defense industry giant, which had won the previous two competitions to equip the USAF and the U.S. Navy with its fifth-generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35, the latter in its A/B/C variants. The first blow may have come weeks ago when various sources indicated that the company was also eliminated from the F/A-XX development program, through which the U.S. Navy seeks its own sixth-generation aircraft via a separate development from NGAD.
Regarding the new F-47, of which only its official designation and conceptual images have been released, the U.S. Air Force stated in its official communication: “We are not simply building another fighter; we are shaping the future of warfare and sending a clear message to our enemies. This platform will be the most advanced, lethal, and adaptable fighter ever developed, designed to outmatch, outmaneuver, and dominate any adversary that dares challenge our brave airmen.”
This is a crucial point, as it first confirms that since at least 2020, the “X” aircraft from both Boeing and Lockheed Martin have undergone various ground and flight tests, subjected to extensive evaluations that ultimately led to the selection of the F-47.
Secondly, it serves as a clear message to the People’s Republic of China, the United States’ primary geopolitical rival, which last year unveiled two new aircraft models developed by its industrial complex, also undergoing tests. However, unlike the official announcement made by the United States, no official statements have been issued by the Asian Giant to clarify whether these are sixth-generation stealth aircraft or experimental designs serving as technology demonstrators.
Finally, regarding the price of the future aircraft—which had been speculated to cost three times more than an F-35—the USAF reported that it will have a lower acquisition cost than the F-22 Raptor, which it will replace over the next decade.
“Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats, and we will have a greater number of F-47s in our inventory. The F-47 will have significantly greater range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, easier to maintain, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters. This platform has been designed with a ‘built to adapt’ mindset and will require considerably less personnel and infrastructure to deploy,” the Air Force detailed in its official statement.
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