Behind Trump's official announcement of the sixth generation aircraft

On the current global chessboard of military technology competition, the upgrading of weapons and equipment has always been a focus of attention for countries around the world. On March 21, 2025, during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House, US President Trump threw a giant rock into a calm lake, causing a thousand waves. He announced the selection of Boeing to produce the "next-generation air superiority" fighter jet, which is the sixth generation fighter jet project of the United States, and named it the F-47. This news instantly became a hot topic of concern in the global military community, and behind this seemingly simple official announcement, there are actually many complex factors hidden, involving multiple levels such as politics, military, economy, and technology.

From a political perspective, Trump's move has multiple political considerations. Trump has just started his second term and has only been in office for two months. At this critical juncture, announcing the sixth generation aircraft project is undoubtedly an attempt to add a significant touch to one's political achievements. The naming of the F-47 is worth pondering. Trump was the 47th President of the United States, and the fighter jet was named the F-47. This numerical coincidence is hard not to evoke associations in the outside world. In American history, the names of many former presidents have been used to name aircraft carriers to demonstrate their contributions. Although Trump did not name his fighter jets after himself, he named the first sixth generation aircraft with a term number, which also achieved the effect of highlighting his own political achievements.

According to the strategic plan of the US Air Force, the F-47 will replace the F-22 Raptor and become the most important air superiority fighter in the coming decades, with an expected procurement quantity exceeding that of the existing fifth generation F-22. The US Air Force hopes that the F-47, along with the B-21 stealth bomber and the Navy version of the sixth generation F/A-XX that Boeing and Northrop Grumman are bidding for, will form the backbone of future US air power to ensure its air superiority in global military competition. The F-47 project also includes the development of highly autonomous collaborative combat drones, as well as new jet engines, weapons, electronic warfare kits, sensors, combat management capabilities, etc., all of which indicate that the United States is attempting to build a more powerful and advanced air combat system through the F-47.

From a technical perspective, although Trump boasted of the F-47 as "the most advanced, high-performance and lethal aircraft ever", the F-47 project still faces many technical challenges and uncertainties. The Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, David Orven, stated that the F-47's technology validation aircraft has completed hundreds of hours of test flights over the past five years, testing cutting-edge technology and concepts. However, there is a significant difference between the technology validation aircraft and the true prototype fighter jet, which requires integrating all systems according to the requirements of the US Air Force and conducting various complex tests. At present, the prototype construction of F-47 has not been completed, and the project is still in the early stage.

Boeing has encountered numerous challenges in both military projects and civilian aircraft in recent years. In terms of military aircraft, projects such as the T-7A "Red Eagle" trainer aircraft, KC-46A "Pegasus" aerial refueling aircraft, and the "Air Force One" presidential plane are facing quality issues and schedule delays; In terms of civilian aircraft, Boeing has been continuously involved in serious accidents, and its production, manufacturing, and management capabilities have been severely criticized by the outside world; In the field of aerospace, the "StarCraft" spacecraft has been stuck in a quagmire of schedule delays, cost overruns, and continuous malfunctions.

In this situation, there are significant doubts about whether Boeing can smoothly advance the F-47 project, complete research and development, production, and delivery as planned. In addition, the adaptive variable cycle engine expected to be used in the F-47 not only has a much higher cost than expected, but the development progress is also far behind. If we want to significantly reduce procurement costs, we may abandon this revolutionary engine, which will have a significant impact on the performance of the F-47.

The official announcement of the sixth generation F-47 by Trump is a complex situation involving multiple factors such as politics, military, economy, and technology. This project carries many expectations of the Trump administration, but also faces numerous difficulties and challenges. Whether the future F-47 can truly become a weapon that changes the pattern of air combat as the United States wishes, or whether it will fail in the face of many problems, let us wait and see.