US unveils sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet

(Compiled from Military .com and NY Post) — President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the US will begin producing the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet….

The new F-47 will [be used alongside] the fifth-generation F-35, which has been long heralded for its superior stealth capabilities. In its Navy variant, the F-35 was the first US fighter jet to be able to land vertically like a helicopter, allowing it to touch down on ships with limited runway room.

Trump joked that he liked the name of the new jet, which shares the same number as Trump’s second administration. He denied naming it after himself, insisting that “the generals picked a title, and it’s a beautiful number.”

Details about the new asset were limited to protect against foreign adversaries gleaning intelligence about it. Trump mentioned the F-47 would be the first aircraft to be able to “fly with drones,” though it was unclear what he meant.

“It flies with many, many drones, as many as you want. And it’s a technology that’s new, but it doesn’t fly by itself. It flies (with a pilot) but with many drones, as many as we want,” the president said. “And that’s something that no other plane can do.”

While production formally began with Trump’s Friday announcement, the F-47 project has been underway for years, with prototypes in the air since 2020, the president said from the Oval Office.

Known as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), the manned jet will serve as quarterback to a fleet of future drone aircraft designed to be able to penetrate the air defenses of China and any other potential foes. The initial contract to proceed with production on a version for the Air Force is worth an estimated $20 billion.

Flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin in the Oval Office, Trump said that the administration is “confident that it massively overpowers the capabilities of any other nation” and that “America’s enemies will never see it coming.” Secretary Hegseth added:

“We’ve had the F-15, we’ve had the F-16, the F-18, the F-22, the F-35 — now we have the F-47, which sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere — and to our enemies that we can, we will, be able to project power around the globe unimpeded for generations to come.”

The F-47 is expected to replace the F-22 Raptor, which embarked on its first flight in 1997 under Lockheed Martin. The new jet, for which Trump did not give a cost estimate, citing operational security concerns, is expected to fly alongside “loyal wingman” drones — or uncrewed aircraft.

Allvin said at the announcement that the F-47 would be the “crown jewel” of the military’s next-generation “family of systems.”

“And whether [our air dominance] be clearing the skies so we can rain down destruction on our enemies from above, or we can clear the path to the ground forces below, that’s been our commitment to the fight, and that’s really been our promise to America, and with this F-47 as the crown jewel in the next generation of [our] air-dominant family of systems, we’re going to be able to keep that promise well into the future.”

In an emailed statement following the Oval Office announcement, Allvin said that the Air Force had been flying experimental planes, or X-planes, for the last five years, laying the foundation for the F-47 in an effort to cement U.S. air dominance. He added that the F-47 is expected to fly during the Trump administration and that it would cost less than the F-22.

“With the F-47, we are not just building another fighter — we are shaping the future of warfare and putting our enemies on notice,” Gen. Allvin said in the statement. “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.” [He also said, “Despite what our adversaries claim, the F-47 is truly the world’s first crewed sixth-generation fighter” —an apparent dig at China, which recently revealed several new stealthy-looking combat aircraft types.]

Last year, the Biden administration’s Air Force secretary, Frank Kendall, ordered a pause on the NGAD program to review if the aircraft was still needed or if the program, which was first designed in 2018 [during Trump’s first administration], needed to be modified to reflect the past few years of warfighting advances.

That review by think tanks and academia [not the military?] examined what conflict with China would look like with NGAD and then without it — and determined that NGAD was still needed.

A separate Navy contract for its version of the NGAD fighter is still under competition between Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

…In addition, the Pentagon’s future stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, will have many of the same cutting edge technologies in advanced materials, AI, propulsion and stealth.

A fleet of about 100 future B-21 stealth bombers at an estimated total cost of at least $130 billion is also planned. The first B-21 aircraft are now in test flights.

Compiled from articles published on March 21 by Drew F. Lawrence at military[.]com and by Caitlin Doornbos at NY Post. Reprinted here for educational purposes only.