A recklessness on the Boeing F-47 could further damage F-35 sales

Yesterday, the United States announced the new Boeing F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet, the replacement for the F-22 Raptor, and there is already controversy about it.

The few images and data available of the Boeing F-47 fighter, the replacement for the F-22 Raptor
The F-35 stealth fighter does not have a remote kill switch, but it does have the MDF

Trump says a scaled-down version of the F-47 will be exported

The controversy was not caused by the plane, about which very little is known, but by a politician, specifically the US president. At the presentation of the new plane in the Oval Office this Friday, Donald Trump stated (see video, point 2:58):

This contract also represents a historic investment in our defense industrial base, helping to keep America at the cutting edge of aerospace and technology our allies are calling constantly. They want to buy them also and will certain allies will be selling them, perhaps toned down versions. We'd like to tone them down at about 10%, which probably makes sense, because someday, maybe they're not our allies, right?

I confess I was stunned when I heard these words. Basically, Trump is saying they will export the F-47 with fewer features for fear of their allies. It's hard to understand why a person who holds the office of President of the United States would make such a reckless statement that puts Boeing in a difficult position, hampering future F-47 exports and, worse still, conveying the idea that the US doesn't trust its allies, thus damaging the mutual trust between them and the US, which has already been significantly damaged by Trump's recent statements on Canada and Greenland.

A few words perhaps related to the deployment of Danish F-35s in Greenland

Speaking of that Danish territory, it's possible that Trump's reference to the allies is precisely related to that. On December 24, the BBC reported that Denmark is considering upgrading one of Greenland's three civilian airports to operate its F-35As. Trump had not yet arrived at the White House, but in November he had won the presidential elections and that same month he had already expressed plans to annex Greenland to the United States.

In January, Defence Industry Europe noted that the Greenlandic airport chosen to deploy the Danish F-35s would be Kangerlussuaq, on Greenland's west coast. It so happens that in 1941, during World War II, the US built an airbase there, Bluie West-8, which became known as Sondrestrom Air Base in 1952. It was operated by the US until September 1992, when it became the island's main civilian airport until the opening of the new Nuuk Airport in November 2024.

Tensions between the US and Denmark over Trump's remarks on Greenland

On January 28, 2025, from Defence Blog, Dylan Malyasov noted that Trump's statements on Greenland were putting the F-35 program at risk, noting that "the escalating tension between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland could jeopardize this partnership. Some analysts warn that the U.S. might consider freezing or even canceling Denmark’s participation in the F-35 program," following the precedent of Turkey, which was expelled from the program after announcing the purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles.

Let's remember that Denmark is one of the founding members of NATO and participated in the F-35 program as a Tier 3 partner, for an amount of 125 million dollars. In order to replace its F-16 fighters, operated since January 1980, the Royal Danish Air Force expects to receive 27 F-35s: 11 of them are already in the country, while another 6 are located at a US air base, Luke AFB, where they are used as conversion training aircraft for new F-35 pilots.

Statements that could further damage F-35 sales

Beyond the F-47, Trump's statements could not only harm Boeing, but also Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35. Given the US president's plans for his sixth-generation fighter jet and the distrust he has shown in his allies, these words could also affect current stealth fighters. Recall that recently Portugal and Canada reconsidered the purchase of the F-35. The Canadian case is very similar to the Danish one, due to Trump's statements calling for Canada's annexation to the US.

Trump's distrust of his allies is counterpointed by a growing lack of trust among other NATO countries in the United States, especially due to the new US administration's rapprochement with Russia. The already scrapped F-35 orders for Portugal and Canada represent billions of dollars in losses for Lockheed Martin, and things could get worse, given Germany's fears related to the F-35 (remember that in 2022 this country announced the purchase of 35 F-35A).

The precedent of the USSR's exported fighter aircraft

This aspect is necessary when purchasing any weapons system, but when we're talking about an aircraft with such advanced technology, trust between allies is essential. Scaled-down versions of fighter jets for export were a feature of the Soviet military industry during the Cold War. Moscow never fully trusted its allies, as many of them were ultimately treated as mere puppets of the Soviet communist dictatorship.

However, trust was one of the basic elements between Western allies, not only in the face of a potential war, but also in the purchase and sale of weapons systems. Precisely now that uncertainty is damaging F-35 exports, what was needed was to restore that trust. Instead, Trump's words are like pouring gasoline on the fire, further damaging not only that trust, but also potential sales of the F-35, which is one of the best-known export products of the US defense industry.

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Main photo: U.S. Air Force.