President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Boeing would build the future Air Force hunting aviator, who, according to the Pentagon, will have furtive and penetration capacities that far exceed those of his current fleet and are essential in a potential conflict with China.
Known as the new generation air dominance, or NGAD, the inhabited jet will serve as a quarter-rear for a fleet of future drone planes designed to be able to penetrate the aerial defenses of China and any other potential enemies. The initial contract to carry out production on an Air Force version is worth around $ 20 billion.
The 47th president, who announced the Prix to the White House with the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the management of the Air Force, said with a smile that the new fighter would be appointed F-47.
General David Allvin, Air Force chief of staff, said: “We are going to write the next generation of modern air war with this.” And Hegseth said that the future fleet “sends a very clear and direct message to our allies that we are not going anywhere”.
Critics have questioned the cost and the need for the program because the Pentagon is still struggling to fully produce its most advanced jet, the F-35, which should cost taxpayers more than $ 1.7 billion during its lifespan. In addition, the future stealth bomber of the Pentagon, the B-21 Raider, will have several of the same advanced technologies in advanced materials, AI, propulsion and stealth.
More than 1,100 F-35 have already been built for the United States and several international partners.
A fleet of about 100 futureB-21 stealth bombersAt a total estimated cost of at least $ 130 billion is also planned. The first B-21 plane is now in test flight.
With the evolution of the war of drones and space likely to be the center of any fight with China, Dan Grazier, a military purchasing analyst, wonders if “another exquisite inhabited fighter is really the right platform in the future”. Grazier, director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, said that $ 20 billion is “just seed funds. Total costs on the road will be hundreds of billions of dollars”.
Few details on what the new NGAD fighter would look like was public, although Trump said that the first versions have made test flights for five years. The rendering by Lockheed Martin and Boeing highlighted a flat and tail -free plane with a pointed nose.
The selection of Boeing, which faced intense pressure from Trump on cost overruns and program delays on Air Force One, came after an independent Air Force analysis, said an official on condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the selection. Boeing’s offer was still determined to be the “best overall value for the government,” said the manager.
The Air Force did not specify the number of planes that will be produced. In a statement, however, Allvin said that there would be more F-47 products than the F-22, the advanced advance he replaces. There are now about 180 F-22 fighter planes in service.
A separate naval contract for its version of the NGAD fighter is still in competition between Northrop Grumman and Boeing.
Last year, Air Force Secretary of the Biden Administration, Frank Kendall, ordered a break on the NGAD program to examine whether the plane was still necessary or if the program, which was designed for the first time in 2018, was to be modified to reflect the last years of war progress.
This review by Think Tanks and the academic world examined what the conflict with China would look like with Ngad, then without it – and determined that Ngad was still necessary. Kendall then left the decision on which the company Build the Trump Administration Hunting Plane, said a defense manager, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details on decision -making.
Ngad will bring “a level entirely different from low observability,” said the manager. It will also have a much longer range than the F-35 or other current fighter planes, it will therefore need less supply. A future unmanned version of Ngad is also planned as the Pentagonimproves AI for the plane,The manager said.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
