Boeing has started manufacturing work on the first F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet only months after it was awarded the contract under the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Speaking at an aerospace and defense conference in Maryland on Monday, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin said the F-47 will help the U.S. achieve air superiority in future conflicts, according to Defense News.
“It’s the platform that, along with the rest of the systems, is going to ensure dominance into the future,” Allvin said. “In the few short months since we made the announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
The F-47 is expected to eventually replace the F-22 Raptor. Few details have been released about the aircraft, but earlier this year Allvin said it will have a combat radius of over 1,000 nm and top speeds greater than Mach 2.
President Donald Trump personally announced Boeing as the builder of the F-47 at a press conference in March. The company will produce the aircraft at its facility in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Air Force has agreed to purchase over 185 F-47s and hopes to see the first of them flying by 2028.
Also on Monday, Boeing posted on X a video showing renderings of the F-47, somewhat obscured by shadow and clouds. The video includes a single line of text: “Dominate the skies of tomorrow.”
