The rumors are basically over. We finally have a name, a manufacturer, and a timeline for the most expensive plane ever conceived. It’s the F-47. If you haven't been following the alphabet soup of military procurement lately, this is the crown jewel of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Boeing won.
Honestly, that’s the biggest shocker to come out of the Pentagon in a decade. After years of Lockheed Martin dominating the stealth market with the F-22 and F-35, Boeing snagged the contract for the world’s first "real" sixth-generation fighter. President Trump announced the designation personally in March 2025, and yeah, the number 47 wasn't a coincidence. It's a nod to his own term in office, but behind the political branding is a machine that looks like it crawled out of a science fiction storyboard.
What actually makes the F-47 different?
Most people think 6th-gen just means "stealthier." That’s a tiny part of it.
The F-47 is built to solve a problem the F-22 couldn't: distance. If you look at a map of the Pacific, it's huge. The F-22 Raptor is a beast, but it’s a short-legged beast. It needs tankers nearby, and in a high-end fight, those tankers are basically giant "shoot me" signs for the enemy. General David Allvin, the Air Force Chief of Staff, recently dropped an infographic on X (formerly Twitter) confirming the F-47 has a combat radius of over 1,000 nautical miles. That is roughly 25% more reach than anything we have now.
It’s also not just a plane. It’s a quarterback.
We’re talking about a "family of systems." The F-47 won't fly alone. It’s designed to lead a swarm of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)—basically high-end, autonomous drones that do the dirty work. These drones can scout ahead, soak up enemy fire, or carry extra missiles. Think of the F-47 as the brain and the drones as the muscle. It’s a weird, hybrid way of fighting that changes everything about how pilots are trained.
The Boeing Surprise
For years, everyone assumed Lockheed would walk away with this. They built the Raptor. They built the F-35. But Boeing has been quietly pouring money into digital engineering and a massive facility expansion in St. Louis.
The Pentagon loved Boeing's "digital twin" approach. Basically, they built the whole plane in a virtual environment before a single piece of aluminum was cut. This supposedly cuts down on the nightmare delays that plagued the F-35 program. According to Boeing CEO Steve Parker, the production is moving "ahead of schedule" because the design was already matured through secret X-plane demonstrators that have been flying since roughly 2020.
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The F-47 vs China's 6th-Gen Race
We aren't the only ones doing this. China is working on its own 6th-gen platform, often seen in blurry satellite shots around Chengdu.
There’s a lot of debate about who is winning. China is faster at getting prototypes into the air—we’ve seen their tailless designs taxiing for a while now. But the U.S. has a secret weapon: flight hours. We now know that at least two different "X-plane" demonstrators for the F-47 program have been flying for years. They've logged hundreds of hours in the "black" (classified) world.
While China shows off their frames on social media to flex, the U.S. has kept the F-47 almost entirely under wraps. We only have two official renderings, and honestly? They’re probably fake. Or at least, they’re designed to mislead enemy analysts. Secretary Frank Kendall once joked that he hopes the Chinese pore over those drawings because they won't find anything real in them.
The "Math" Problem: Can we actually afford this?
The price tag is eye-watering.
We’re looking at roughly $300 million per plane. For context, you can buy three F-35s for that price. This has caused a massive rift in Washington. The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) put about $2.6 billion into the F-47 but essentially "paused" the Navy's version, the F/A-XX.
The government decided we can't afford to go fast on two 6th-gen programs at once. The Air Force won the coin toss. This leaves the Navy in a tough spot, still relying on Super Hornets while the Air Force moves into the future.
- Quantity: The Air Force wants at least 185 of these jets.
- Speed: It’s expected to cruise at Mach 2+ without even breaking a sweat.
- Stealth: It’s "broadband" stealth, meaning it’s designed to be invisible to more than just high-frequency radars. It’s trying to hide from the infrared sensors that usually catch stealth jets.
Why the F-47 matters to you
You might think this is just military posturing, but the technology usually trickles down. The AI autonomy being developed for the F-47's drone wingmen is the same kind of logic that will eventually run civilian air traffic or self-driving logistics.
Also, it’s a massive shift in how the U.S. maintains its "top dog" status. If the F-47 works, the days of traditional dogfighting are over. It's about who sees who first from 200 miles away and who has the better AI to manage the chaos.
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What's next?
The first F-47 "article" (the first real production jet) is currently being built in St. Louis. If you’re looking for a date to circle on your calendar, it’s 2028. That is the target for the first official flight. The Air Force is desperate to get this operational by 2030 to counter the growing threat in the Pacific.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve on this, keep an eye on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) contracts. The F-47 is only as good as the drones it commands. Without the drones, it’s just a very expensive, very fast kite.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Watch the CCA selection: Companies like Anduril and General Atomics are competing to build the F-47's "loyal wingmen." This will tell us more about the F-47's actual combat style than the jet itself.
- Monitor the St. Louis production: Any delays in Boeing's St. Louis facility will be the first sign that the 2028 flight goal is slipping.
- Follow the NDAA updates: Budget cuts are the only thing that can kill the F-47 now. If the 2027 budget shifts back toward the Navy's F/A-XX, it means the F-47 hit a technical snag.