On March 21, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that Boeing had secured a contract to develop the F-47, a next-generation fighter jet poised to redefine air dominance for the United States Air Force.
US ghost jet unveiled: F-47’s five-year shadow run breaks free
Photo credit: X
Speaking from the White House, Trump described the aircraft as “the most advanced, powerful, and lethal fighter ever built,” signaling a major milestone in the Pentagon’s Next Generation Air Dominance program, commonly known as NGAD.
The announcement, made during a press conference attended by military officials and industry leaders, confirmed that an experimental version of the F-47 has been secretly flying for approximately five years, with plans to bring the jet into full operational service by the end of the decade.
The decision marks a significant step in the U.S. military’s efforts to maintain superiority in the skies amid growing competition from nations like China and Russia, whose own advanced fighter programs have raised concerns among defense strategists.
The F-47 is the culmination of years of secretive development under the NGAD initiative, a program launched to replace aging aircraft like the F-22 Raptor, which has been the backbone of American air superiority since its introduction in 2005.
According to Trump’s remarks, the jet’s capabilities surpass anything currently in the U.S. arsenal, with an estimated unit cost of $300 million—a figure that reflects its cutting-edge technology and ambitious design.
🇺🇸 Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the new F-47 fighter jet of the United States, officially announced today by President Trump and Sec of Defense Hegseth pic.twitter.com/I2ErmbUiNc
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 21, 2025
Boeing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, emerged as the winner of the contract over competitors like Lockheed Martin, the maker of both the F-22 and the F-35 Lightning II.
While specific details about the F-47’s features remain classified, military officials present at the announcement hinted at its unprecedented stealth, maneuverability, and integration with unmanned systems, positioning it as a cornerstone of future aerial warfare.
Details about the F-47’s development began to surface well before the White House announcement. The NGAD program, overseen by the Air Force, has been in progress for over a decade, with early reports of a demonstrator aircraft taking flight as far back as September 2020.
Will Roper, then the Air Force’s acquisition chief, revealed at the time that a prototype had already broken records, though he declined to specify which company was behind it or what the aircraft entailed. That secrecy persisted until this week when Trump’s statement confirmed Boeing’s role and attached the F-47 designation to the project.
The president noted that the jet’s experimental phase began roughly five years ago, aligning with speculation that test flights have been conducted at secure facilities like Area 51 in Nevada or Edwards Air Force Base in California, though no official confirmation of the locations has been provided.
The F-47’s price tag of $300 million per unit has already sparked discussion among lawmakers and defense analysts. For comparison, the F-22 Raptor, which the F-47 is set to replace, costs approximately $150 million per aircraft, while the F-35, a multirole fighter used by multiple branches of the U.S. military and allied nations, ranges from $80 million to $100 million depending on its variant.
The steep cost reflects the advanced systems integrated into the F-47, including what officials describe as next-generation stealth technology that renders it nearly invisible to enemy radar.
Additionally, the jet is designed to operate alongside Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs—unmanned drones that act as force multipliers, extending the F-47’s reach and firepower without risking additional pilots.
This combination of manned and unmanned systems represents a shift in how the Air Force envisions future conflicts, where networked warfare and artificial intelligence play central roles.
Boeing’s selection over Lockheed Martin, a longtime leader in fighter jet production, came as a surprise to some industry observers. Lockheed’s F-35 program, despite its well-documented cost overruns and technical challenges, has delivered over 1,000 aircraft to date, making it a dominant player in modern military aviation.
Boeing, meanwhile, has faced its own struggles, including delays in its KC-46 tanker program and the high-profile grounding of its 737 MAX commercial airliner following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
However, the company’s experience with military aircraft like the F/A-18 Super Hornet and its work on classified projects likely bolstered its bid for NGAD.
🇺🇸TRUMP'S SECRET F47 FIGHTER JET: “WE DON’T SHOW TOO MUCH”
“This was a big secret. In fact, we don’t show too much of the plane for that reason."
The 6th-gen jet, built by Boeing, is now officially entering production.
Officials claim it surpasses every other aircraft on… https://t.co/DJ1D5wFHyP pic.twitter.com/QW5Enz52hK
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 21, 2025
A Boeing spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the contract, said the company was “honored to partner with the Air Force on this transformative platform,” though they declined to elaborate on specifics pending further Pentagon approval.
The Air Force has remained tight-lipped about the F-47’s technical specifications but hints from military leaders provide a glimpse into its capabilities.
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Air Force Chief of Staff, spoke briefly during the White House event, emphasizing that the jet is built for “contested environments” where adversaries possess sophisticated air defenses.
Analysts interpret this to mean the F-47 is engineered to counter systems like Russia’s S-400 missile defense network or China’s HQ-9, both of which pose threats to older stealth aircraft like the F-22 and F-35.
Brown also alluded to the jet’s “adaptable design,” suggesting it may incorporate modular systems that can be upgraded over time—a departure from the fixed configurations of previous fighters, which often required costly retrofits to keep pace with evolving threats.
The integration of Collaborative Combat Aircraft is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the F-47’s design. These drones, developed in parallel with NGAD, are intended to serve as “loyal wingmen,” performing tasks like electronic jamming, reconnaissance, or even delivering munitions while the F-47 pilot focuses on command and control.
Breaking: Boeing Secures Contract to Develop the U.S. Air Force's Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Fighter, Designated F-47. pic.twitter.com/4okEJrjRFp
— International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) March 21, 2025
The concept isn’t entirely new—Boeing’s own Loyal Wingman program, developed for Australia, demonstrated similar technology with its MQ-28 Ghost Bat—but the scale and sophistication promised by NGAD elevate it to a new level.
During a 2023 symposium hosted by the Air Force Association, Major General Thomas J. Lawhead, a key figure in NGAD’s planning, described the CCA integration as a “game-changer,” noting that a single F-47 could potentially coordinate multiple drones in real-time, effectively multiplying its combat effectiveness without increasing its physical footprint.
The strategic context for the F-47’s development is impossible to ignore. China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon, a stealth fighter introduced in 2017, and Russia’s Su-57 Felon, operational since 2020, have narrowed the technological gap with U.S. air forces.
Both aircraft boast advanced radar, long-range missiles, and some degree of stealth, challenging the dominance once enjoyed by the F-22. The Pentagon’s 2022 China Military Power Report, published by the Department of Defense, warned that Beijing aims to field a fleet of over 1,000 fighter jets by 2035, many of them J-20s or newer designs.
Similarly, Russia has invested heavily in hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare, capabilities that could neutralize older U.S. aircraft in a future conflict. The F-47, with its projected deployment around 2030, is the Air Force’s response to these threats, designed to ensure American pilots maintain an edge in any potential showdown.
Funding the F-47 program will likely be a point of contention in Congress. The Air Force’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, due later this year, is expected to include significant allocations for NGAD, building on the $1.5 billion already spent on research and development through 2024, according to data from the Government Accountability Office.
At least one full-scale prototype of NGAD has flown, and that announcement came almost 5 years ago. And at least 3 has been existence for a while. So unless this is the fully completed production model, this was not the world's first 6th gen fighter's maiden flight. https://t.co/uJCkcdbURp pic.twitter.com/SKPAFGAVbw
— Doha (@Doha104p3) December 26, 2024
Critics, including some lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee, have questioned whether the high cost of the F-47 justifies its benefits, especially given the Pentagon’s ongoing investments in the F-35 and emerging technologies like hypersonic missiles.
Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington state and a senior member of the committee remarked in a recent interview with Defense News that “we need to ensure every dollar spent delivers real capability, not just promises.”
Supporters, however, argue that failing to modernize the fighter fleet risks ceding air superiority to adversaries, a scenario with catastrophic implications for national security.
Trump:
We may sell toned down versions of F-47 to US allies.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 21, 2025
Public reaction to the F-47 announcement has been mixed, based on early chatter across social media platforms like X. Aviation enthusiasts praised the unveiling of a new American fighter, with one user calling it “a beast that’ll keep our skies safe for decades.”
Others expressed skepticism about the price tag, with a commenter noting, “Three hundred million per plane? That better come with a guarantee to win every war.”
The secrecy surrounding the jet’s development also fueled speculation, including unverified claims that it incorporates directed-energy weapons like lasers—a feature the Pentagon has neither confirmed nor denied. Such rumors are likely to persist until more concrete details emerge, possibly during congressional hearings or future Air Force briefings.
Trump:
Experimental F-47 has been flying for five years. It surpasses every other plane.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 21, 2025
“For Boeing, the F-47 contract represents a chance to expect the company to regain some momentum after a challenging decade. The company’s stock rose 4% in after-hours trading following Trump’s announcement, a sign of investor confidence in its military division.
Still, delivering the F-47 on time and within budget will be critical to maintaining that momentum, especially given the intense scrutiny the NGAD program is sure to face as it progresses.
The Air Force, meanwhile, plans to phase out the F-22 gradually, with the last of its roughly 180 Raptors expected to retire by the mid-2030s, paving the way for the F-47 to take center stage.
As the NGAD program moves forward, the F-47 remains shrouded in some mystery, its full capabilities known only to a select few within the Pentagon and Boeing.
What is clear is that the jet represents a bold bet on the future of air combat, blending human ingenuity with cutting-edge technology to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
Whether it lives up to its billing as the “most advanced fighter ever built” will depend on years of testing, refinement, and—perhaps most critically—the unpredictable realities of the battlefield it’s designed to dominate.
For now, the announcement marks the beginning of a new chapter in American military aviation, one that promises to shape the skies for decades to come.
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