Boeing contracted to produce NGAD fighter jet F-47

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” — George Washington

The Pentagon has given Boeing the contract to build the Air Force’s new fighter jet, labeled the Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, President Donald Trump announced on Friday. This long-awaited deal means Boeing will create a super advanced sixth-generation plane to replace the older F-22 Raptor. Trump said it will be called the F-47.

This new jet will have “state-of-the-art stealth technologies [making it] virtually unseeable,” and it’ll fly with robot drones, called collaborative combat aircraft, as its wingmen. “It’s something the likes of which nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said during an announcement in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, and Lt. Gen. Dale White. 

“In terms of all the attributes of a fighter jet, there’s never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability to what it can have [as] payload. And this has been in the works for a long period of time.”

“America’s enemies will never see it coming,” he added.

Gen. Allvin said the F-47 will be “the most advanced, lethal and adaptable fighter ever developed. We are not just building another fighter. We are shaping the future of warfare and putting our enemies on notice.”

Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin for the NGAD contract after Northrop Grumman said in 2023 it wouldn’t try to lead the project. “We recognize the importance of designing, building a sixth-generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force,” said Steve Parker, a top Boeing official. He added that Boeing made a huge investment to get ready for this job and will build the best NGAD plane possible.
Lockheed Martin was bummed about losing but said it gave a solid pitch. “We will await further discussions with the U.S. Air Force on any next steps,” the company said.

Fortunately, Boeing's F-47 will have a canopy and no doors that can fall off in flight.

The F-47 will be the main part of NGAD’s “family of systems,” which includes robot drones plus high-tech sensors, weapons, and gear to connect with satellites and other aircraft. The Air Force says NGAD is key to beating tough enemies like China.

Other companies, General Atomics and Anduril, are working on their own drone wingmen, called RFQ-42A and RFQ-44A, to fly with the F-35 or F-47. The Air Force wants these drones to be affordable, run by smart software, and able to do things like spy missions, attacks, or confuse the enemy. They’ll also have special engines that adjust for the best power and fuel use, made by either General Electric Aerospace or Pratt & Whitney.

Experts say Boeing winning this deal is good for America’s defense industry. It keeps all three big U.S. plane makers—Boeing, Lockheed (which makes the F-35), and Northrop (which builds the B-21 Raider)—busy with cutting-edge projects. “For the country, that’s a really important thing, to have that innovation, that competition and frankly, the volume production,” said Doug Birkey from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

But Boeing’s had some tough years. 

Its 737 Max planes crashed, killing nearly 350 people, and last year it made a deal to avoid a big trial. Another 737 Max had a door blow out mid-flight in 2024, and workers went on strike over pay issues. Plus, some military projects like the T-7A trainer and KC-46 tanker have had delays and cost overruns. In 2024, Boeing fired its defense boss, Ted Colbert, after losing tons of money.

Birkey said this win is big for Boeing, but “It’s up to Boeing to make this opportunity a win. Only time will tell on that.”

The contract Boeing got on Friday pays them to build and test the F-47, with extra rewards if they do well. They’ll make a few test planes and could build more later if the Air Force likes the results. Gen. Allvin said test versions of NGAD have already flown hundreds of hours over the past five years, proving the tech works.

“The F-47 has unprecedented maturity,” Allvin said. “While the F-22 is currently the finest air superiority fighter in the world, and its modernization will make it even better, the F-47 is a generational leap forward.” He also said that it’s better than China’s supposed sixth-generation jet, the J-36, saying, “Despite what our adversaries claim, the F-47 is truly the world’s first crewed sixth-generation fighter.”

The F-47 will cost less than the F-22, which was $143 million a pop, and the Air Force plans to buy more of them. Trump wouldn’t say the exact price, but the Air Force expects to spend $20 billion on NGAD by 2029. 

Last year, the program nearly got canceled when costs soared too high, but after a review, they decided to keep it going.

Trump hinted that allies might get a simpler version of the F-47 someday, saying, “Because someday, maybe they’re not our allies, right?”

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