US President Donald Trump recently announced that the first sixth-generation fighter aircraft under the Next Generation Air Dominance programme will be built by US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and named the F-47. It is to be the most advanced successor to the F-22 Raptor yet, and is expected to be priced lower than the F-35. The US government expects the first aircraft to take off by the end of Trump's term. Unlike the F-22, which was not offered to allies, the United States plans to make the new F-47 available to its partners. The sixth-generation aircraft is also intended to send a message to global competitors, particularly China, with its advanced technology. The value of the current contract is $20 billion, but the total price tag could climb to several hundred billion dollars.
Picture: Illustration of the possible appearance of the new US sixth-generation F-47 fighter aircraft | U.S. Air Force
The Next Generation Air Dominance or NGAD project has been shrouded in mystery for years. It was first named in 2014 in a study by the US Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). According to the study, the sixth-generation aircraft was initially expected to debut in the 2030s, but the US now aims to accelerate the timeline. Over the years, DARPA has been testing its X-planes, or experimental high-speed aircraft, with the aim of deploying them into the Air Force's arsenal. Meanwhile, two major players in the aerospace sector, US firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have been competing for the contract. Ultimately, the current administration chose Boeing’s F-47 project as the winner.
Dominate the Skies
Get your first look at what will be the most advanced, lethal, & adaptable fighter ever developed... the U.S. Air Force's F-47. pic.twitter.com/ca1CeBABb5
"Despite what our adversaries claim, the F-47 is truly the world's first manned sixth-generation fighter, built to defeat the most capable adversary and operate in the most extreme threats imaginable," U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said in a statement. "For the past five years, X-planes have been quietly laying the groundwork for the F-47, flying hundreds of hours, testing cutting-edge concepts, and proving that we can confidently push the limits of technology. These experimental aircraft have demonstrated the innovations necessary to enhance the F-47's capabilities and ensured that when we committed to building this fighter, we knew we had made the right investment for America," Allvin continued.
President Donald Trump has praised the emerging project, highlighting its designation as the F-47 – coinciding with his position as the 45th and 47th president. He also claimed it is the deadliest aircraft ever produced. "Nothing has ever even come close to it, from speed to maneuverability to what it can carry and have in its equipment," Trump said during a presentation in the Oval Office, according to the BBC, adding that the F-47 fundamentally surpasses the capabilities of any other nation and that America's enemies won't even notice it.
Without U.S. officials directly mentioning it, it is clear that the U.S.'s direct rival for air supremacy is currently China. Videos of Chinese jets circulated on social media late last year, sparking speculation that Beijing is developing and testing its own sixth-generation aircraft, though China has not officially confirmed this. Some Chinese military experts also believe that the information on the F-47 so far confirms that it will indeed be a sixth-generation aircraft. "The design of the F-47's appearance follows the general development trend of the sixth-generation fighter concept. It has a tailless design, which is an effort to further improve its stealth capability in all directions. It has a flat nose and a lifting fuselage. These are all important features of a sixth-generation fighter," Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Xuefeng told the Global Times.
China's sixth-generation fighter jet reportedly conducted its first flight, according to visuals shared on Chinese social media. pic.twitter.com/ta8hKFnNax
According to the United States, the F-47 will provide new capabilities at an affordable price. The current contract for Boeing is worth $20 billion, with potential increases over time.. Individual acquisition costs are expected to be lower than those for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighter currently being widely procured by European partners, as well as for the F-22. The F-47 is also expected to have the same open path to potential allied bidders as the F-35, unlike the F-22, whose sale to foreign governments was prohibited by a congressional provision in the late 1990s.
"Our allies keep calling us, saying that they want to buy them all," Donald Trump continued at the White House when asked about a possible purchase by an ally. "But we're going to reduce their capabilities (in terms of technology) by about 10 percent, which probably makes sense because they may not always remain our allies," the US president remarked on the growing debate over NATO.
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