Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Air Force has officially selected Boeing for its Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, awarding it the contract to build the F-47, America’s first sixth-generation fighter jet.
-This revolutionary aircraft will enhance U.S. airpower with advanced stealth, longer range, drone-commanding capabilities, and cutting-edge electronic warfare systems.
-Designed as a critical node within a broader family of systems, the F-47 represents a generational leap beyond the current F-22 Raptor.
-With potential for international sales, the F-47 could redefine aerial combat, despite a steep estimated cost of $300 million per aircraft.
-It marks a significant milestone in modern aerial warfare.
Meet the F-47: America’s Revolutionary 6th-Generation Fighter Jet
After much waiting, the future is here: the U.S. Air Force has anointed a winner for their Next-Generation Air Dominance program, the initiative that will see the world’s first sixth-generation fighter enter service with the United States, awarding Boeing the NGAD contract, and designating the jet the F-47 .
General David Allvin, the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Air Force, took to X to draw the curtain back and partially reveal the new aircraft, exclaiming that “from the legacy of yesterday to the future of combat, your @USAirForce will continue to own the skies with the world’s first 6th-generation fighter jet: the F-47.”
General Allvin joined President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office to announce the decision.
“Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform will usher in a new generation of United States fighter jets that brings leap-ahead capability in range, survivability, lethality and adaptability. The NGAD Platform is the central node in the NGAD Family of Systems,” Boeing said in a statement marking the win.
“We recognize the importance of designing, building and delivering a 6th-generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force. In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defense business, and we are ready to provide the most advanced and innovative NGAD aircraft needed to support the mission,” said Boeing’s interim president and chief executive officer Steve Parker.
The company added that “for nearly a century, Boeing has produced many of the most advanced combat aircraft for military customers around the globe including the P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and EA-18G Growler, among others. The NGAD selection builds on Boeing’s fighter legacy and establishes a new global standard for 6th generation capability.”
It should be noted, however, that some of the aircraft now attributed to Boeing were inherited from McDonnell Douglas following the companies’ merger in 1997 following post-Cold War drawdowns and tighter budgets, including the F-15 Strike Eagle, F-4 Phantom II, the F/A-18 Hornet, and others.
The announcement of the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) award for Boeing will be worth around $20 billion, though this pales in the esteemed hundreds of billions of dollars worth of F-47 orders the company will most likely receive from the U.S. Air Force. In fact, each F-47 could cost $300 million — or more.
Interestingly, DARPA, the secretive Department of Defense research and development agency behind some of the most advanced military projects in American history, took some of the credit for the F-47, saying that the group’s experimental X-planes “paved the way” for the new sixth-generation fighter.
F-47 and Next-Generation Air Dominance
Although the NGAD initiative is often used to refer to just the aircraft, the moniker, in fact, describes a broader program. While it does include the F-47 itself, it also encompasses new networking abilities, advanced electronic warfare and sensor suites, as well as new jet engines and — perhaps most importantly — the ability to collaborate with a variety of unmanned “loyal wingman” semi-autonomous drones.
What exactly the F-47 will look like precisely is still shrouded in secrecy, though an artist rendering of the aircraft released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aircraft that may sport canard surfaces on the fuselage nose.
The name of the NGAD winner is somewhat of a mystery, with several numerical coincidences running through the name. The new sixth-generation jet is ostensibly named after the P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter-bomber from the Second World War that was also leveraged as a successful ground attack aircraft. 1947 was also the year that the Secretary of Defense transferred the personnel and equipment of the Army Air Forces to the newly-created United States Air Force. And President Donald Trump is also currently the 47th American President.
During the announcement in the Oval Office, President Trump talked about the F-47 in broad strokes, hinting that American allies are clamoring for access to the F-47 program. If true, and the United States does export the sixth-generation fighter to allies overseas, it would mark a significant departure from official American policy regarding the F-22 Raptor, the U.S. Air Force’s fifth-generation air superiority fighter, which Congress barred from export outside the United States.
In his statement on the NGAD award contract, General Allvin affirmed that while the F-22 is currently the “finest air superiority fighter in the world,” and slated for modernization improvements, the F-47 is a “generational leap forward.” General Allvin said that the F-47 will cost less than the F-22, will be acquired in higher numbers, will be stealthier, have a longer range than the F-22, and be “more sustainable, supportable.”
One open question is what engine will ultimately propel the F-47 fighter. Two companies are in the running, hoping to secure the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program contract for the engines that will power the NGAD fighter: Pratt & Whitney and General Electric. Earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force awarded both companies an additional $3.5 billion each, further funds for their prototype NGAP engines, though a winner has not yet been declared and additional testing of engine prototypes is presumably not yet finished.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
