Boeing has managed to win the contract for America’s NGAD fighter

On Friday, President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Boeing has won the contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program that seeks to create the first sixth-generation stealth fighter jet in the world.  

“At my direction, the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet, number six, sixth generation, nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be known as the F-47,” President Trump said in statements to reporters on Friday.  

Trump went on to say that the aircraft has been undergoing test flights for the past five years and that there will be an export version available to interested friendly countries.  

The F-47 designation was likely an acknowledgement of Trump’s current presidency, which is the 47th in the history of the country.  

“It’s something the likes of which nobody has seen before and this has been in the works for a long period of time,” Trump added.  

The president also highlighted the F-47’s ability to operate seamlessly with unmanned aerial systems. His statements, however, indicated that the sixth-generation stealth fighter jet would come only in a manned version.  

“This plane flies with drones. It flies with many, many drones, as many as you want,” Trump said. “It’s a technology that’s new, but it doesn’t fly by itself. It flies with many drones, as many as you want, and that’s something that no other plane can do.” 

The F-47 will specialize in air superiority and will replace the F-22 Raptor. The cost of the contract is approximately $20 billion to begin with.  

“After a rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies, the Air Force is going to be awarding the contract for the next generation air dominance platform to Boeing,” Trump announced. 

Boeing is not a newcomer when it comes to fighter jets. The aerospace giant has a long history of providing the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps with high-end fighter jets that have ruled the skies in their time. Some of the Boeing fighter jets that have served or are currently serving in the U.S. military include the P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, and EA-18G Growler.  

“We recognize the importance of designing, building and delivering a 6th-generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force. In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defense business, and we are ready to provide the most advanced and innovative NGAD aircraft needed to support the mission,” Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a press statement.  

Despite years of air crashes and bad press, Boeing managed to wrestle the contract for the NGAD from its main adversary, Lockheed Martin that has developed and produced the U.S. military’s sole fighter jets, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.  

Feature Image: The F-47 fighter. (U.S. Air Force)

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