And the winner is! Trump, Hegseth announce winner of US Air Force's NGAD program

Pegged as the world's first sixth-generation fighter jet, the announcement from the White House comes just a few months following the unveiling of Beijing's own "sixth-generation" fighter aircraft, the J-36 which has been spotted flying again over the Chinese city of Chengdu again this week.

In May 2024, the US Air Force took a strategic pause in the program to ensure it was making the right decision for its warfighters and the nation’s security. During this period, the Air Force continued to work closely with industry to aggressively mature critical technologies and fast-track innovation.

This decision follows a fair and thorough source selection process by the Air Force, reaffirming the NGAD Platform as the most capable and cost-effective solution to maintain air superiority in an increasingly complex and contested global threat environment. It reflects the Air Force’s commitment to delivering state-of-the-art technology to the warfighter while optimising taxpayer investment.

US President Donald Trump said, “I'm thrilled to announce that, at my direction, the United States Air Force 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.”

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As the cornerstone of the NGAD Family of Systems, the F-47 is engineered 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 allow for seamless integration with emerging technologies, positioning it as a dominant platform for decades to come.

President Trump added, “In terms of all of the attributes of a fighter jet, there's never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability, to what it can have, to payload. And this has been in the works for a long period of time. America’s enemies will never see it coming.”

US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth expanded on the President’s comments, saying, “Now we have the F-47, which sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we're not going anywhere… and to our enemies that we can, and we will be able to project power around the globe, unimpeded, for generations to come.”

Secretary Hegseth stated that the F-47 represents a significant advancement over the F-22, which is currently the US Air Force's primary air superiority fighter.

“This is a historic investment in the American military, in the American Industrial Base, that will help revive the warrior ethos inside our military, which we're doing - rebuilding our military,” Secretary Hegseth detailed.

Over the past five years, in a strong partnership between the Air Force and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, 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.

US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin stressed the importance of the F-47 platform and the role it would play in securing the next-generation of American air dominance, by leveraging a host of next-generation technologies, “With this F-47 as the crown jewel in the Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems, we believe that this provides more lethality. It provides more capability, more modernised capability, in a way that is built to adapt, along with our Collaborative Combat Aircraft.”

By leveraging cutting-edge digital engineering techniques and government-owned architecture, the F-47 benefits from a streamlined and accelerated development timeline compared to previous fighter programmes. These advancements enable rapid technology integration, ensuring the F-47 remains adaptable and upgradable to meet future mission requirements and counter emerging threats.

GEN Allvin added, “Air dominance is not a birthright, but it's become synonymous with American airpower, but our dominance needs to be earned every single day.”

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 limited number of test aircraft for evaluation, and the contract also includes competitively priced options for low-rate initial production.

GEN Allvin said, “That's been our commitment to the fight, and that's really been our promise to America, and with this F-47 we're going to be able to keep that promise well into the future.”

For nearly a century, Boeing has produced many of the most advanced combat aircraft for military customers around the globe – including the P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and EA-18G Growler, among others. The NGAD selection builds on Boeing's fighter legacy and sets a new global benchmark for 6th-generation capability.

Further details on the NGAD Platform’s technical and program specifics remain classified under United States national security and export laws.

President Trump added, “Hopefully, these magnificent planes will be built and in the air during my administration. It's ready to go. They've already built much of what has to be built in terms of production, including the sheds. We will ensure that the USA continues to dominate the skies.”

Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security expanded on the comments from the US Government saying, “We recognise the importance of designing, building and delivering a 6th generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force. In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defence business, and we are ready to provide the most advanced and innovative NGAD aircraft needed to support the mission.”

Future basing decisions and additional programme elements will be determined in the coming years as the Air Force advances the F-47 towards operational deployment.

More to come.