NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Air Force’s first F-47 fighter is now being built by Boeing, and the advanced jet is expected to have its initial flight in 2028, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday.
“It’s the platform that, along with the rest of the [accompanying family of] systems, is going to ensure [air] dominance into the future,” Allvin said. “In the few short months since we made the [F-47] announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
The F-47, previously known as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), is intended to replace the F-22 Raptor. Little is known about the highly classified aircraft, but it is expected to have state-of-the-art stealth capabilities, weapons and engines and fly with autonomous drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft.
In May, Allvin posted a graphic online that said the F-47 will have a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles, and be able to fly at speeds greater than Mach 2, or more than 1,500 miles per hour.
In that May post, Allvin said the Air Force plans to buy at least 185 F-47s, which would match or exceed the size of the F-22 fleet.
For the Air Force to succeed in a future war, Allvin noted that it must be able to overwhelmingly dominate adversaries in the sky, and said the F-47 will provide that capability.
“It’s not enough just to be able to stick the jab,” Allvin said. “You’ve got to be able to let your adversary know you can put them on the canvas.”
During his AFA keynote, Allvin lauded the people working on the F-47 and said their enthusiasm will ensure the program will be successful. He showed video of Boeing employees at the company’s fighter production facility in St. Louis, Missouri, cheering loudly the morning they found out President Donald Trump was about to announce they will build the F-47.
“Those aren’t people who just show up to work,” Allvin said. “Those are people who are committed to do something great for the nation. And there are Americans on shop floors all across the country, in the labs, out on the flightlines doing the tests. They want to put together the dominance for the future.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
