The United States Air Force is deeply committed to Boeing’s sixth-generation stealth warplane, the F-47. That’s not surprising, especially since China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) keeps trolling the US by doing victory laps around major Chinese cities in what are believed to be its two sixth-generation warplane variants.
But the US side wants everyone to understand that their sixth-generation warplane is the real deal. It’s an exquisite platform.
That’s the problem, of course.
Because if either the War in Ukraine or the ongoing war with Iran has shown the world anything, it’s that exquisite platforms don’t lead to the kinds of decisive victories military contractors believe they do.
Boeing F-47: Raising the Bar
Still, the Air Force is moving forward with plans for the Boeing F-47’s testing phases.
By combining traditional flight testing with computer simulations along with digital engineering, as well as closer coordination between developmental and operational testing organizations, the Air Force Test Center (AFTC), located at Edwards Air Force Base in California, has crafted a new testing strategy that will purportedly shorten the time between the first flight of the F-47 (scheduled in 2028) and its full deployment.
One of the AFTC’s core objectives with the new method is to move developmental and operational testing earlier in the acquisition process.
If it works, this could become the much-needed new model for future major acquisition projects at the Pentagon.
After all, acquisitions have been one of the biggest impediments to the United States Armed Forces since the end of the Cold War.
During the acquisition phase, a program has lived, and more often than not, died.
During the developmental testing phase, engineers test whether an aircraft and its various systems meet the technical requirements of the Pentagon-approved design.
Then engineers conduct operational testing to evaluate whether the aircraft can carry out its assigned missions under realistic combat conditions.
Pentagon planners had kept the developmental and operational testing phases segregated during the development of new platforms.
In fact, two different organizations usually manage each task. But the AFTC is changing that for the vaunted F-47.
The Air Force isn’t merging the two programs.
Instead, the Air Force is running the two operations simultaneously.
Acquisitions Reform
It was first tried during the development of the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II.
That attempt was modestly successful, as the F-15EX Eagle II achieved initial operational capability in 2024.
The F-15EX became the first aircraft designed with fully integrated developmental and operational testing conducted together, rather than separately.
Indeed, Northrop Grumman is employing similar techniques to streamline the development of the new B-21 Raider long-range, nuclear-capable stealth bomber.
While the Trump administration’s overall Pentagon leadership team has justifiably received much guff for a variety of reasons (notably for their handling of the Iran War), the one consistent throughline the Trump team has handled well has been acquisitions reform.
The B-21 Raider and the F-47, whatever one thinks of their utility in the age of drones and missile swarms, show how the bureaucratic reforms the Trump team championed at the Pentagon are working.
Engineers building the F-47 are also using advanced digital modeling to streamline production.
The War Zone, a widely respected trade publication, spoke with USAF Brigadier General Mark Massaro, who commands the AFTC.
According to Massaro, the team developing the F-47 wants to use digital modeling for computational fluid dynamics, structural loads, and high-angle-of-attack maneuvering.
By using digital modeling in those areas, the AFTC team can significantly cut the time spent developing the F-47.
Meanwhile, data collected from F-47 flights will feed into future computer models, allowing engineers to refine and evaluate potential design changes.
The Air Force also wants to adopt a more iterative software-testing process for the F-47’s development.
Rather than waiting for major program milestones to evaluate completed systems, engineers will continuously assess new capabilities as they become available.
Of course, even Massaro understands that computer simulations cannot replace real testing.
Nevertheless, it can significantly help streamline production of the F-47, which is desperately needed, given how quickly the Chinese have already started flight testing their two versions of the sixth-generation stealth warplane.
For actual F-47 testing, the Air Force will combine live, virtual, and constructive testing (LVC) to ensure the F-47 can meet the modern threats posed by the Chinese and Russian air forces.
This will not just test the F-47’s ability to take on rival planes.
It will also test the F-47’s ability to penetrate and defend against enemy air defenses.
A New Standard?
In late September, Air Force officials reported that preparations for full-rate F-47 production were already underway.
The AFTC is preparing personnel, infrastructure, digital tools, and testing procedures to evaluate the F-47 once it starts flying.
But the real issue is whether integrated testing and digital engineering can cut the development schedule without compromising the technical evaluations before the F-47 enters Air Force service.
Boeing will likely use the Air Force production methods used to build the F-47 for the Navy’s new carrier-based sixth-generation stealth warplane, the F/A-XX. So, expect these methods to become the new standard for the military’s warplane programs.
About the author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor at 19FortyFive.com. He also manages The Weichert Brief on Substack. Weichert also hosts “National Security Talk” on Rumble. He is the author of four bestselling national security books, most recently A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine (Encounter Books). Follow him via Twitter/X @WeTheBrandon.
