The US Air Force has not announced the parameters of the F-47 fighter, but confirmed it possesses many features that are superior to the current F-22 model.
US President Donald Trump on March 21 announced that Boeing Group was awarded the 6th -generation fighter manufacturing contract under the new generation sky -to -mastering project (NGAD). The aircraft called the F-47 and will gradually replace the F-22 stealth muscle fighters that have been operating for more than 20 years.
US officials have not announced the specific parameters of the F-47, but the US Air Force Commander David Allvin has revealed some details about the NGAD program. “The F-47 is really the first 6th-generation fighter in the world. It possesses new generation stealth technology, integrated sensor, long-range attack capacity to deal with the most sophisticated competitors in the environment with many threats,” he said.
The first graphic images published by the US Air Force showed that the F-47 had differences compared to F-22 or F-35 fighters.
Simulation image of Boeing F-47 fighter. Graphic: USAF
The F-47 series has a flat and angular body, the basic features of the stealth fighter, but is added with the nose wings on the sides of the cockpit. The nasal wing and the main lifting wing are beveled upwards, instead of lying on a flat surface like the F-22 series.
“The F-47 has a significant flying range than the F-22,” said General Allvin, but did not give a specific number. The F-22 can reach a maximum range of nearly 3,000 km if carrying two barrels of the extra oil under the wings, while the battle radius is about 1,100 km if not wearing auxiliary oil tank and only flying at the speed of the sound.
The US Air Force Commander said that the technologies in NGAD have been tested for the past 5 years, confirming that the F-47 fighter “will take off during Mr. Trump’s term”. The term of President Trump will end in January 2029, which means Boeing and the US Air Force are less than 4 years to realize the goal.
President Trump said, “It is impossible to disclose” the contract value and the time to hand over the first, but the US media identified the deal worth at least $ 20 billion, not to mention hundreds of billion dollars of orders during the contract performance.
The NGAD program was suspended in 2024 due to concerns about cost. This is the most expensive project in the research and development of the US Air Force. General Allvin pledged that the F-47 line will be low, large quantities and better adapt to future threats.
The US Air Force seemed to want to build 220-250 fighters of the Ngad project. The US Congress budget office in 2018 estimates that the factory price of each aircraft can be up to $ 300 million, this figure can now be much higher.
Simulation image of Boeing F-47 fighter. Graphic: USAF
For comparison, the two prototypes of the YF-22 series were produced by Lockheed in the period 1989-1990, before the project won the advanced tactical fighter race (ATF) held by the US Air Force in 1991.
Lockheed Martin took an additional 6 years to make the first test flight with a complete F-22 fighter. This fighter line was only included in the US Air Force in 2005, more than 14 years after being chosen in the ATF program.
The US Air Force plans to order 750 F-22 aircraft, then withdraw to 381 and finally 195 aircraft. The whole was manufactured in the period 1995-2011, including 8 tests and 187 aircraft capabilities.
Each F-22 has a factory price of 140 million USD, excluding the amount of money for research and development, construction of service infrastructure and other technical costs. If including them, the price of a F-22 fighter will be about US $ 350 million.
The US Air Force currently operates a total of 183 F-22 fighters, but only 125 units are capable of fighting. The Pentagon report in 2023 showed that the percentage of F-22 aircraft ready to do the task at any time was 52%.
F-22 US fighter flew on the Hawaii Islands in December 2019. Image: USAF
General Allvin affirmed that the F-47 fighter “will be easier to maintain and have a higher combat readiness than the 5th-generation fighter”, seemingly alluding that the stealthy is more durable and easier to handle than the F-22 series.
The F-47 also possesses “high adaptation”, most likely thanks to the application of digital design and open system structure, allowing regular adjustment of software, sensors and auxiliary equipment to meet specific combat situations.
The US Air Force did not state the reason why Boeing was chosen instead of Lockheed Martin, a producer of fifth-generation fighters including F-22 and F-35.
Boeing recently had a problem in military aircraft development projects, including KC-46 oil aircraft, T-7 training aircraft and VC-25B special aircraft for the US president, causing the total cost of nearly US $ 10 billion. Its civil aircraft also encountered a series of accidents and incidents related to quality issues in recent years.
Lockheed Martin is also having a problem with the price and slow progress in the F-35 project. The company expressed disappointment with the decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing and said it would “” discuss more with the US Air Force “.