Boeing Clinches Deal For Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter

BOEING was awarded the highly anticipated contract for the future US Air Force’s (USAF) Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet by the Pentagon in an announcement made by president Donald Trump.

Speaking on the deal during a press briefing, the president said, “I’m thrilled to announce that, at my direction, the USAF is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet. Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be known as the F-47.”

The contract award funds the engineering and manufacturing development phase, which includes maturing, integrating, and testing all aspects of the F-47. This phase will produce a small number of test aircraft for evaluation. The contract also includes competitively priced options for low-rate initial production though the Air Force did not specify the number of F-47s to be produced. According to the Air Force, a total of US$20 billion is expected to be spent on the programme between 2025 and 2029.

As a sixth-gen fighter, the F-47 is set to supersede the Lockeed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter which is currently the USAF’s primary air superiority fighter. It would also possess cutting edge stealth technologies and fly alongside autonomous drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) under the NGAD Family of Systems. It was also revealed that the F-47 designation “honours the legacy of the P-47 Thunderbolt, whose contributions to air superiority during World War II remain historic. Additionally, the number pays tribute to the founding year of the Air Force, while also recognising the 47th President’s pivotal support for the development of the world’s first sixth-generation fighter.”

A USAF statement read, “As the cornerstone of the NGAD Family of Systems, the F-47 is designed to integrate next-generation stealth, sensor fusion, and long-range strike capabilities to counter the most sophisticated adversaries in contested environments. Its adaptability and modular design ensure seamless integration with emerging technologies, positioning it as a dominant platform for decades to come. Over the past five years, in strong partnership between the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), X-planes have been laying the foundation for the F-47. These experimental aircraft have flown hundreds of hours, advancing stealth, range, and autonomous systems while refining operational concepts.”

USAF Chief of Staff General David Allvin added, “With this F-47 as the crown jewel in the NGAD Family of Systems, we believe that this provides more lethality. It provides more modernised capability, in a way that is built to adapt, along with our CCA”.Two firms, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril Industries have already developed prototypes for the CCA programme, dubbed the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A respectively.

Awarding of the NGAD contract follows unconfirmed footage of China’s new stealth fighter, said to be sixth-gen J-36 fighter taking to the skies again after being initially caught on camera December 26 of last year. Unofficially referred to as the J-36, it is built by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC).

Gen Allvin was quoted saying, “Despite what our adversaries claim, the F-47 is truly the world’s first crewed sixth-generation fighter, built to dominate the most capable peer adversary and operate in the most perilous threat environments imaginable”.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:USAF,X)