Boeing will build what is widely believed to be the Air Force’s last crewed fighter air craft. President Donald Trump told reporters in an Oval Office briefing that the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) is designated the F-47. The aircraft is a sixth-generation design incorporating stealth aerodynamics with advanced threat detection and precision weapons systems. The Air Force hopes to begin fielding the new aircraft in the mid-2030s. Each aircraft could cost as much as $300 million. Boeing edged Lockheed Martin for the lucrative contract, which neither company had publicly acknowledged before Friday’s announcement.
As has become the norm for new fighter designs, the F-47 is depicted as a flying wing with a radar-repelling matte black finish. When it goes to work it will not be alone. It will fly with a squadron of drones that will mostly autonomously support the mission and presumably protect the crewed aircraft. The plane itself will have new engines, weapons, electronics, sensors and networking technology. Boeing is getting $20 billion to develop all these systems to build the first plane.
