Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Air Force’s F-47—a sixth-generation NGAD fighter—has entered production at Boeing, with leaders targeting a first flight in 2028.
-At AFA’s 2025 Air, Space & Cyber, CSAF Gen. David Allvin and SecAF Troy Meink framed the jet as the centerpiece of a broader “system-of-systems,” urging a “go fast” tempo as work shifts from labs to manufacturing.
NGAD. Image Credit. Lockheed Martin.
-The Navy’s carrier-based F/A-XX remains murkier amid budget tradeoffs, while China fields multiple flight-test programs (e.g., the tailless, tri-engine “J-36”).
-The strategic takeaway: platform hype matters less than integration—sensors, weapons, networks—linking the F-47 to a full NGAD kill web.
First of the Fleet: the F-47 Enters Production
Recent comments given by the Air Force’s Chief of Staff and Secretary indicate work on the United States’ first sixth-generation fighter has begun—but it will be several years before that first aircraft is complete, and competition from abroad is stiff.
Production has begun on the United States Air Force’s newest warplane, the F-47, a sixth-generation fighter. Aerospace giant Boeing is reportedly building the first of the fleet, with a first flight anticipated sometime in 2028, near the end of this decade.
Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David W. Allvin explained in his keynote address that “after years of work, hundreds of test hours, 1,000s of man-years in the lab, the President announced the F-47,” Allvin said.
“It’s the platform that, along with all of the rest of the [NGAD] systems, is going to ensure dominance into the future.” TWZ, a website, reported on General Allvin’s comments.
Shown is a graphical artist rendering of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. The rendering highlights the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. The NGAD Platform will bring lethal, next-generation technologies to ensure air superiority for the Joint Force in any conflict. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
President Donald Trump announced the winner of the Next Generation Air Dominance program earlier this year from the Oval Office, flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He called the program a “historic investment in U.S. Military defense” that would allow the U.S. to project power and deterrence around the world.”
Though a rendering of Boeing’s NGAD bid was displayed on an easel next to the President, very little of the aircraft can be seen in the photo, which caused rather speculative analyses about the aircraft to surface in the aftermath of the announcement.
“We [have] got to go fast. I got to tell you, team, it’s almost 2026. The team is committed to get the first one flying in 2028,” General Allvin continued during his keynote address.
“In the few short months since we made the announcement, they [Boeing] are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
“Just love looking at this picture,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink stated during his own address at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, before the speech made by General Allvin, in reference to the few computer-generated renderings of the F-47 that are available. “I expect some of the Chinese Intel analysts are spending a lot of time looking at this picture,” he stated. “Good luck trying to dig something out of there. Pretty careful about that.”
Shown is a graphical artist rendering of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. The rendering highlights the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. The NGAD Platform will bring lethal, next-generation technologies to ensure air superiority for the Joint Force in any conflict. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
While the United States’ NGAD/F-47 project has made the most progress thus far, it is not the only sixth-generation fighter that is being pursued.
In tandem with the U.S. Air Force’s F-47, the U.S. Navy also has its own, carrier-capable sixth-generation fighter in the works, the provisionally-named F/A-XX. That fighter would, if successful, replace the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets once they reach the end of their service lives later during the next decade.
The status of that Navy program is somewhat unclear, as senior administration officials have at times indicated a preference for prioritizing the U.S. Air Force’s F-47 over the F/A-XX. However, several members of Congress have pushed back against this all-or-nothing dichotomy.
China Has Their Own J-36 Stealth Fighter Plan
Parallel to these two efforts are several ongoing initiatives in China, which are known from a smattering of photos and videos that appear to show large, heavy fighters, or perhaps smaller regional bombers, during flight testing.
One of these, provisionally called the J-36, is a large, tailless aircraft that features three jet engines, a radical departure from the more typical one- or two-engine designs commonly seen in most fighter jets.
J-36 Fighter from X Screenshot. Image Credit: X Screenshot.
Unlike their counterparts in the United States, some of the ongoing sixth-generation projects currently underway in China are known from videos and photos that surfaced online, showing the aircraft taxiing, taking off, flying, or landing.
General Allvin acknowledged the progress China is making in advancing its own sixth-generation fighter programs.
But, the general also said, the hype surrounding various platforms should be taken with a grain of salt and viewed within the context of the family of systems that support the pilot in the cockpit, the weapons that arm the aircraft, and the various air-borne and ground-based support elements that support the men and women in the airplane.
Addressing the progress made by China in the realm of future, sixth-generation aircraft, General Allvin struck a straightforward, no-nonsense tone.
“The adversary is not taking a knee. They’re not stopping and saying, ‘Well, maybe the US slows down, we’ll slow down too.’ Maybe we can take a knee, and that’s not what they’re doing,” General Allvin said.
“As we look into the future, when we develop all of the next-generation capabilities, we can’t get enamored with the platforms. It’s not just the weapons and the weapon systems. We’ve got to understand systems over platform. It’s the things that links them together that makes it work.”
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
More Military
The F-35A Stealth Fighter Is Also a Stealth Bomber
Mach 2.65 F-111 ‘Aardvark’ Strike Fighter Has a Message for the U.S. Military
Russia’s MiG-29 Fulcrum Fighter Has a Message for NATO
The X-40A Space Plane Has a Message for the U.S. Military
The Mach 6.7 X-15 Space Plane Has a Message for the U.S. Air Force
