| F-47 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) USAF artistic rendering of an F-47 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Air superiority fighter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
The Boeing F-47 is a planned Americanair superiority aircraft under development byBoeing for theUnited States Air Force (USAF) under theNext Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.[1][2] It is designed to be the first U.S.sixth-generation fighter and the successor to theLockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.[3][4] Air Force leaders have said they intend to buy "185-plus" F-47s, which are to have acombat radius of more than 1,000nautical miles (1,852 km) and a top speed aboveMach 2.[5]
USAF officials have said experimental tests began in 2020. As of 2025,[update] first flight is expected in 2028,[6] the plane is to be operational by 2029,[7] and the service aims to field it in the 2030s.[5]
The F-47 program is part of the USAF'sNext Generation Air Dominance initiative, which aims to replace theF-22 Raptor fleet.[8][9] The initiative envisions a "family of systems" approach centered on a fast, long-range, stealthy sensor-shooter crewed fighter aircraft originally called the Penetrating Counter-Air (PCA).[4][10][11] In 2014, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the Aerospace Innovation Initiative to build X-plane prototypes for developing and maturing next-generation fighter aircraft technologies; the DARPA demonstrators would serve as full-scale flight demonstrators for the PCA, with Boeing first flying its demonstrator in 2019.[12][13] The PCA was initially expected to operate without needing support fromuncrewedcollaborative combat aircraft (CCA).[14] But as automation technology advanced, Air Force leaders began planning for drones that could accompany crewed fighters. In March 2023, Air Force SecretaryFrank Kendall said the service was planning for a notional fleet of about 200 next-generation air dominance fighters and 1,000 advanced drones to carry additional munitions or perform supporting missions.[15]
The winner of the NGAD development contract was to be chosen in 2024, but Kendall paused the program in May 2024 after its projected cost soared, putting the price of each fighter at three times that of aLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The service launched an internal study to judge whether the program could furnish air dominance amid rapid advances in aviation and air-defense technology, particularly by America's adversaries.[16][17]
In early March 2025, USAF leaders said the study had concluded that NGAD was necessary. "Bluntly, what this study told us, we tried a whole bunch of different options, and there was no more viable option than NGAD to achieve air superiority in this highly contested environment," Major General Joseph Kunkel, director of Air Force Force Design, Integration, and Wargaming, said at theAir & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Colorado.[18] GeneralKenneth Wilsbach ofAir Combat Command added that the U.S. would need crewed sixth-generation aircraft to counter Chinese sixth-generation aircraft.[19][20]
On 21 March 2025, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump announced that the program would move ahead, that its centerpiece aircraft would be called the F-47, and that the engineering and manufacturing development contract, worth more than $20 billion, would be awarded to Boeing.[4][21]
Air Force officials said the number "47" was chosen because "[it] honors the legacy of theP-47, 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 recognizing the 47th President's pivotal support for the development of the world's first sixth-generation fighter."[8][22][23]
This contract is expected to revitalizeBoeing's military aviation division, especially its fighter production line inSt. Louis, Missouri.[24]Defense One reported that Boeing has invested heavily in its defense division with the aim of returning it to profitability.[25]
The program has been flyingX-planes—experimental aircraft meant to prove out design and technological elements—since 2020,[21][26]Air Force Chief of Staff GeneralDavid Allvin said in a statement, adding that the F-47 is slated forfirst flight by the end of Trump's term in early 2029.[27][17]
In September 2025, Allvin said first flight was now expected in 2028, and that manufacturing of the first F-47 had begun.[6]
Many details of the F-47's design remainclassified. In March 2025, Allvin said it will have "significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters"—that is, the F-22 and F-35.[28][29] The chief of staff also said it would "cost less" than the F-22, be acquired in larger numbers, be "more adaptable to future threats," and "will take significantly less manpower and infrastructure to deploy."[27][17] It is anticipated to have a top speed of around Mach 2 and operate with accompanying drones.[8][28] In May 2025, Allvin posted an infographic that said the F-47 will have a combat radius of more than 1,000nautical miles, fly faster than Mach 2, and become operational between 2025 and 2029. It also said the Air Force would buy at least 185 examples of the type.[7]
Alex Alfirraz Scheers of the magazineThe Diplomat has speculated the aircraft may be capable of delivering theB61 nuclear bomb series of nuclear gravity bombs, as a replacement for its F-22 predecessor. Scheers also speculated deployments of the F-47 to the Western Pacific, similar to the F-22's current mission atKadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, could be perceived as more provocative by China, North Korea, and Russia.[30]
Data from Air & Space Forces Association[31]
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
Media related toBoeing F-47 at Wikimedia Commons
