The few images and data available of the Boeing F-47 fighter, the replacement for the F-22 Raptor

Eleven years after the launch of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, we now know some details about it.

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This program was launched in 2014 at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense, giving rise to the NGAD in 2015. In September 2020, the USAF revealed that a prototype of the NGAD had already been built and had already flown, but without revealing any images or details about this secret project, not even the companies involved in it, although it was foreseeable that the two giants of US military aviation, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, would be among them.

Taking into account other sixth-generation fighter projects, such as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) being developed by Germany, France and Spain, it was estimated that NGAD would be a more complex air defense system than a fighter and that it would integrate the use of drones directed from a manned combat aircraft, a concept known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

In May 2023, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, who has been involved in this project since 2014, announced that a single model would be selected for the NGAD program in 2024 (a date that was eventually postponed due to the US presidential election) and that the fleet could number as many as 200 aircraft. Recall that 195 F-22s were built: 8 prototypes and 187 production aircraft, a figure much lower than the 750 initially planned, due to the high cost of the program. This has prevented the F-22 from fully replacing its predecessor, the F-15. In November 2023, Kendall announced that there were already several NGAD prototypes, without specifying how many. Until now, the program has been kept almost completely secret.

At an event at the White House today, Donald Trump announced that Boeing will be in charge of building the NGAD, a decision that has raised eyebrows in aviation circles, since Lockheed Martin is the builder of the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters and the F-117 attack aircraft, the first USAF aircraft equipped with technology capable of drastically reducing radar signatures. "The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built," Trump said, adding: "America’s enemies will never see it coming."

Trump made these statements alongside an artist's rendering of the F-47 (as seen in this Reuters photo), which will be the name of the new sixth-generation fighter. This afternoon, General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the USAF, published this video in which we also see an artist's rendering of the aircraft:

From the legacy of yesterday to the future of combat, your @USAirForce will continue to own the skies with the world’s first 6th-generation fighter jet: the F-47. pic.twitter.com/TcFHEdEbGq

— General David Allvin (@OfficialCSAF) March 21, 2025

Here we can see a screenshot of the F-47 that appears in the video, in which a large part of the aircraft is hidden, not allowing us to see the shape of the wings, if it has fins and stabilizers, or even the air intakes of its engines:

A few hours ago, the USAF released this high-resolution image of the F-47 on DVIDShub.net (click on the image to see it enlarged). It is the image shown in the Oval Office. The F-47 has the angular shapes typical of stealth aircraft like the F-22 and F-35, shapes designed to reduce radar signature.

The nose landing gear is a single-wheeled type, which is standard on USAF aircraft (naval fighters have two, to better withstand rough landings on carrier flight decks). Otherwise, the aircraft appears to have a delta wing with a small leading edge extension. The wing would practically span most of the fighter's size, reaching all the way to the cockpit, something that bears a strong resemblance to various NGAD concept images that have appeared in recent years.

This afternoon, the USAF released a statement from General David Allvin that provides some additional details about the F-47. Part of the statement sounds a lot like Trump's Oval Office remarks:

With the F-47, we are not just building another fighter – we are shaping the future of warfare and putting our enemies on notice. This platform will be the most advanced, lethal, and adaptable fighter ever developed – designed to outpace, outmaneuver, and outmatch any adversary that dares to challenge our brave Airmen.

Allvin then adds more specific information about the experimental prototypes (designated by the USAF with the letter X) of the NGAD:

For the past five years, the X-planes for this aircraft have been quietly laying the foundation for the F-47 — flying hundreds of hours, testing cutting-edge concepts, and proving that we can push the envelope of technology with confidence. These experimental aircraft have demonstrated the innovations necessary to mature the F-47’s capabilities, ensuring that when we committed to building this fighter, we knew we were making the right investment for America.

While our X-planes were flying in the shadows, we were cementing our air dominance – accelerating the technology, refining our operational concepts, and proving that we can field this capability faster than ever before. Because of this, the F-47 will fly during President Trump’s administration.

Likewise, Allvin has offered some forecasts on the characteristics of the F-47 and on the costs of this program:

Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats – and we will have more of the F-47s in our inventory. The F-47 will have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters. This platform is designed with a “built to adapt” mindset and will take significantly less manpower and infrastructure to deploy.

This part of the statement indicates that the F-47 could follow the same philosophy as the B-21 Raider bomber, the future replacement for the B-1B Lancer and the B-2 Spirit, presented in December 2022. Obviously, it remains to be seen whether this goal will be achieved. Recall that in 2018, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that such an aircraft could cost $300 million per unit, much more expensive than an F-35. The challenge now will be to build a much more advanced and capable aircraft at a lower price.