The United States has started manufacturing its F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet and plans for it to be flying in 2028, a senior US Air Force official announced on Monday, three weeks after China showcased its new fighter jets during its Victory Day military parade.
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During his keynote address at the 2025 Air, Space and Cyber Conference, US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin said Boeing had started production of the F-47.
In March, US President Donald Trump announced that Boeing would make the jets to replace the F-22 fighters under the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme.
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China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade
China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade
At the time, Trump said experimental F-47 X-planes had been tested in secret over the past five years, with the first flight reportedly occurring in 2019.
Allvin said the new sixth-generation fighter jet would “ensure dominance into the future”, along with other components of the NGAD system “after years of work, hundreds of test hours, thousands of man-years in the lab”.
“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,” Allvin said, according to The War Zone, a US defence news website.
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“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.”
The US Air Force has previously said that the F-47 was expected to make its maiden flight before the end of Trump’s term of office, which ends in January 2029.