Washington: America is about to enter a new era in air warfare with the revelation of a new sixth-generation F-47 fighter aircraft under development. President Donald Trump presented this ambitious plan on March 21, 2025, at a White House Oval Office speech accompanied by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The F-47, which is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) project, aims to gradually replace the F-22 Raptor in American skies. Military Air Force Designed with the most advanced technologies, the revolutionary jet is poised to rule the heavens and change modern combat.
Initiated in 2020, the NGAD project had been shelved due to its high cost but has been reactivated under Trump’s presidency. Boeing got an initial $20 billion to work on the F-47, a jet that will surpass anything in the air. Trump asserted that approximately five years of covert operation for test models of this plane already show America’s technological superiority. Though little is known about its capabilities yet, China debuted its sixth-generation plane, the Chengdu J-36, on December 26, 2024.
Among the amazing advances the F-47 will have are guided energy weapons like lasers and microwaves, next-generation propulsion for maximum speed and performance, and wide-spectrum stealth to get around radar. Based on the objective, it will also have the capacity to fly either with or without a pilot and an integrated electronic warfare system to disrupt enemy communications. Experts believe that these capabilities will give the United States, especially in upcoming battles in the Indo-Pacific area where China is also growing its air force, a significant advantage.
One major problem for the NGAD initiative has been cost. Working for President Joe Biden, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall cautioned that the cost of each F-47 may go as high as $300 million—three times the F-35 cost. Nonetheless, modern Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin has reassured the public that the F-47 will be better suited to handle future threats and cost less than the F-22. We are applying the lessons learnt from the F-35 programme, where the Air Force had limited control over technical data. This time, the military has instructed Boeing to provide all data, ensuring closer control and preventing previous errors.
Though he kept specifics regarding the schedule and overall cost under wraps, Trump implied that the F-47 would take off in a significant manner during his administration, implying first testing was imminent. Early in September 2022, General Mark D. Kelly of the U.S. Air Combat Command indicated that China was already creating a rival to the NGAD, which is driving the United States to accelerate. With the F-47, America aims to continue leading in air superiority by combining human capacity with advanced technology for battles of the future.
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