The U.S. Air Force announced Boeing has been awarded a contract to design, build and deliver its next-generation fighter aircraft.
Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform will usher in a new generation of United States fighter jets that brings leap-ahead capability in range, survivability, lethality and adaptability. The NGAD Platform is the central node in the NGAD Family of Systems.
“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,”
said Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
For nearly a century, Boeing has produced many of the most advanced combat aircraft for military customers around the globe including the P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and EA-18G Growler, among others. The NGAD selection builds on Boeing’s fighter legacy and establishes a new global standard for 6th generation capability.
Further information on the NGAD Platform’s technical and programmatic details remain classified under United States national security and export laws.
Intended to eventually replace the Air Force’s fleet of F-22 Raptors, the NGAD platform is a network-connected family of systems — including a stealth fighter jet component, drone technology and others — that simultaneously interact to ensure air superiority.
“I’m thrilled to announce that, at 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,”
President Trump said, adding that the aircraft portion of the platform will be designated the F-47.
The ability of NGAD’s fighter jet component to interact with drone technology will allow more lethality and modernized capability than in previous weapons systems, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David W. Allvin said at the press conference.
“[NGAD] is allowing us to look into the future and unlock the magic that is human-machine teaming,” Allvin said. “We’re going to write the next generation of modern aerial warfare with this.”
He added that the way the Air Force has assembled the NGAD program will give the government more control, allowing the platform to be updated and adapted “at the speed of relevance [and] at the speed of technology.”
Additionally, the F-47 will cost less than the F-22, be more adaptable to future threats and “have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters,” Allvin said via a press release following the announcement at the White House.
Though no costs or timelines for NGAD production were released during the press conference, the president said a fleet of F-47s would be “built and in the air” during his current administration.
Sources: Boeing; U.S. Department of Defense