n the biggest development for U.S. Air Force tactical air power in more than two decades, Boeing has been announced as the winner of the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) ‘fighter’ initiative. As the centerpiece of the NGAD effort, the new crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet, now designated the F-47, is set to change air combat forever, with the Air Force hoping to begin fielding it in the next decade.Boeing and Lockheed Martin had been facing off to build the NGAD combat jet, but neither company had formally confirmed it was competing. Northrop Grumman dropped out of the bidding process on its own accord to focus on other opportunities. Just the fact that the fighter component of NGAD is moving forward at all is news as the program has been put on hold for the better part of a year, with concerns over cost and relevance being examined. The Biden administration punted the program to the Trump administration due to this ongoing uncertainty.The announcement was made personally by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office today, alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin.The Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract for NGAD is expected to be worth approximately $20 billion, although, across the life of the program, the company is in line to receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders. Each copy of the jet, once series production commences, has been estimated in the past to cost upwards of $300 million. That is if the original concept for the aircraft has not changed.A Lockheed Martin rendering of a notional sixth-generation combat jet. Lockheed MartinIt’s worth recalling that, while the NGAD terminology is frequently used to refer to the crewed combat jet that will be at the center of the effort, the program of the same name is a much broader initiative. As such, it includes the development of Collaborative Aircraft (CCA) drones with high degrees of autonomy, as well as new jet engines, weapons, electronic warfare suites, sensors, networking ecosystems, battle management capabilities, and more.The NGAD combat jet program evolved from plans for what was originally referred to as a Penetrating Counter-Air (PCA) platform, which emerged publicly in the mid-2010s. The PCA concept was an outgrowth of previous work the Air Force had done in cooperation with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). That includes the Aerospace Innovation Initiative, which was publicly announced in 2015 and produced at least one classified flying demonstrator design.In contrast to previous fighter competitions, NGAD has been cloaked in secrecy from the outset. Indeed, for a long time, the Air Force didn’t even disclose which companies were in the running for NGAD.However, the likely candidates were always going to be Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman — the established heavyweights in terms of U.S. combat aircraft manufacturers. As noted, Northrop Grumman removed itself from the running for NGAD in July 2023, as you can read about here. The firm is also highly focused on fulfilling the high-stakes B-21 Raider contract. The three defense contractors are understood to have flown up to three NGAD demonstrators — possibly one from each company, although this, too, is unconfirmed. The fact that a full-scale flight demonstrator for NGAD had flown at all was first revealed back in September 2020.A screen capture from a Northrop Grumman promotional video showing a rendering of an advanced combat jet concept, at left, among other aircraft. Northrop Grumman captureIt’s also worth noting Lockheed Martin was reportedly recently dropped from the separate competition to build the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter, which is part of the service’s own (and somewhat confusingly named) NGAD effort.In contrast, Boeing has recently suffered some notable setbacks in both its commercial and defense businesses. Trump had previously slammed the company over its contract to build two new Air Force One planes, which are running behind schedule. In the context of NGAD, however, the company’s entire future as a fighter-builder could be at stake. Notably, the company announced back in 2023 that it was going to shutter the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet line and indicated it would refocus in part on advanced combat jet efforts. The firm has made significant investments in its St. Louis, Missouri, facility to prepare it for sixth-generation fighter production. Boeing — alongside Northrop Grumman — is still in the running for the Navy’s F/A-XX. As for tactical jet production, Boeing is currently building F-15 Advanced Eagles and the Air Force’s T-7 jet trainer and will be for foreseeable future.A Boeing rendering of notional U.S. Navy sixth-generation combat jets flying past an aircraft carrier. BoeingLockheed Martin is already highly active in the fighter business, with its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in production for three U.S. services and multiple foreign countries and with manufacture of the latest Block 70/72 versions of the F-16 also ongoing. It also continues to sustain the F-22 Raptor. Its Skunk Works advanced projects division is famous for pushing the technological envelope, especially when it comes to tactical airpower-related programs.Trump’s Air Force NGAD announcement comes at a time at which the President has been seeking to cut costs throughout the U.S. government, including slashing tens of billions of dollars from existing defense programs. NGAD has been of significant source of uncertainty over the past year, having been put on pause in July 2024 as the service reviewed its requirements amid concerns about the affordability of the aircraft, capability needs, and shifting priorities.Ultimately, it seems the service’s need for a sixth-generation fighter in a potential Indo-Pacific conflict secured the future of the program.A rendering of a notional sixth-generation combat jet refueling in flight. Lockheed MartinEnvisioned ostensibly as a successor to the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, the NGAD combat jet was always intended to provide airpower capabilities sufficient to counter near-peer adversaries such as China and Russia. Although the fighter remains highly classified, it’s widely assumed to be tailored to counter future high-end fights in the Indo-Pacific theater, in particular.“We tried a whole bunch of different options, and there was no more viable option than NGAD to achieve air superiority in this highly contested environment,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, director of Force Design, Integration, and Wargaming within the office of the deputy chief of staff for Air Force Futures, said earlier this month.A rendering of a notional sixth-generation crewed stealth combat jet. Collins AerospaceAs such, the fighter will emphasize significant range and payload capabilities but will also boast a host of exotic features and subsystems, among them, broadband stealth, advanced electronic, and other ‘spectral’ warfare capabilities.TWZ has previously looked in detail at what kind of performance the aircraft might have in the end.Once again, the NGAD combat jet is intended to work within a broader air combat ‘ecosystem’ — one in which Collaborative Aircraft (CCA) drones will play a critical part. The NGAD aircraft has always been envisioned as serving, in part, as a forward drone controller and otherwise operating closely together with companion drones. Reflecting the combat role of the CCAs, the Air Force recently announced new ‘fighter drone’ designations for the designs that General Atomics and Anduril are currently developing in the first phase, or Increment 1, of the CAA program. Boeing now joins these two companies as they set about completing the development of a new family of air combat systems for the Air Force.
President Donald Trump announced that Boeing will build the next-generation fighter jet, the F-47, for the U.S. Air Force. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined him in the Oval Office for the announcement."I’m thrilled to announce that 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 called the ‘F-47,’ the generals picked that title."Trump said that Boeing was awarded the contract after a "rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies." The president also stated that an experiential version of the jet has apparently "secretly been flying" for nearly five years.President Donald Trump alongside an image of an F-47 fighter jet to be built by BoeingPresident Donald Trump delivers remarks, as an image of an F-47 is displayed near him, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)OPINION: CHINA'S TWO NEW STEALTH FIGHTERS SHOULD SEND SHOCKWAVES THROUGH PENTAGON"The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built," Trump told reporters. "America’s enemies will never see it coming," he later added.The Trump administration has taken a different approach to the Defense Department than the Biden administration, which includes a focus on establishing American dominance on the world stage. President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth answer questions from reporters on the F-47U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)US AND CANADA CONDUCT AIR DEFENSE DRILLS IN GREENLAND AS TRUMP PUSHES FOR CONTROLThe F-47 will be built as part of the Next Generation Air Defense (NGAD) initiative, which was paused under the Biden administration. During the announcement, Hegseth touched on the program and said that the Biden administration was "prepared to potentially scrap it."According to Axios, NGAD is looking to have the sixth-generation fighters supported by robotic wingmen designed by Anduril Industries and General Atomics.President Trump looks at a poster of the F-47 fighter jetU.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks, as an image of an F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet is displayed, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)Hegseth praised the president for reviving NGAD, and said the fighter jet "sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we're not going anywhere, and to our enemies that we can we will be able to project power around the globe, unimpeded for generations to come." U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, who was also present in the Oval Office, said that the aircraft represents what "peace through strength looks like into the future." He also thanked the president and said that the F-47 would help the Air Force establish deterrence.
