President Donald Trump announced alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office on Friday that Boeing has been selected to build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet—a cutting-edge aircraft the Pentagon says will offer stealth and deep-strike capabilities far beyond those of the current fleet and will be crucial in any potential conflict with China.
Called the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD, the manned jet will act as the central command for a network of future drone aircraft, designed to breach advanced air defenses posed by China and other adversaries. The initial production contract for the Air Force variant is valued at approximately $20 billion, the Associated Press reported.
Trump announced the contract award at the White House alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top Air Force officials, revealing that the new fighter jet will be designated the F-47. General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, declared, “We’re going to write the next generation of modern aerial warfare with this.” Hegseth added that the future fleet “sends a very clear, direct message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere.”
Critics have raised concerns about the cost and necessity of the program, pointing out that the Pentagon is still grappling with full-scale production of its current most advanced jet, the F-35—a project expected to cost taxpayers over $1.7 trillion throughout its lifetime. They also note that the forthcoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber will incorporate many of the same cutting-edge technologies, including advanced materials, artificial intelligence, propulsion systems, and stealth capabilities, the AP said.
“More than 1,100 F-35s have already been built for the U.S. and multiple international partners. A fleet of about 100 future B-21 stealth bombers at an estimated total cost of at least $130 billion is also planned. The first B-21 aircraft are now in test flights,” the AP added.
During the Oval Office press conference, Trump said the F-47 has “been flying for five years.” The president called the F-47 “a good size plane,” adding that “perhaps” some allies will be able to purchase them. Trump said this plane “does not fly by itself” and the F-47 flies with drones — “as many as we want.”
With evolving drone and space warfare likely to be the center of any fight with China, Dan Grazier, a military procurement analyst, questions whether “another exquisite manned fighter jet really is the right platform going forward.” Grazier, director of the national security reform program at the Stimson Center, said $20 billion is “just seed money. The total costs coming down the road will be hundreds of billions of dollars.”
“The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built. An experimental version of the plane has secretly been flying for almost 5 years, and we’re confident that it massively overpowers the capabilities of any other nation,” Trump declared. Hegseth added: “This is a big day for our warfighters. This is a big day for our country, a big day in the world … America is going to have generations in the future of air dominance because of this sixth-generation fighter.”