• Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall discussed the coming F-47.
• President Donald Trump announced this month that Boeing won the contract to build the next-gen fighter.
• Kendall said he doubted US allies would want to buy it.

President Donald Trump said he would offer US allies a less-capable export version of a coming sixth-gen fighter, but a former top Air Force official says he doubts they'll want it.

Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in a podcast interview that he doubted US allies would be willing to buy the coming F-47 stealth fighter because of the high expected cost and concerns over the US's commitments to its longtime alliances.

Speaking on Defense & Aerospace Report's Air Power podcast late last week, Kendall, who left office in January, said the jet's price, which the former Air Force secretary said could be up to $180 million each, roughly twice as much as the F-35, could put off US allies.

"I would be very surprised if our, any of our partners, were prepared to pay that unit cost for a new aircraft," he said.

President Donald Trump announced this month that Boeing had been selected to build the new F-47, winning the $20 billion contract over rival Lockheed Martin. Boeing's share price rose after the announcement, adding $4 billion in market value.

The F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter is expected to be ready for combat by the end of the decade.

The aim is to develop a new sixth-gen fighter aircraft with unmatched stealth and air-to-air combat capabilities, including the ability to fly with uncrewed loyal wingmen drones, to give the US Air Force a technological edge to defeat new threats.

The US has been flying X-plane prototypes in pursuit of this effort.

It's poised to replace the F-22 Raptor, a fifth-generation air dominance/air superiority fighter that has been in service since 2005. The US, despite pressure, has never exported the F-22, which was built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

The other US fifth-generation fighter is the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, which was developed as part of a multinational program. Numerous allies now fly the jet.

Kendall said that the Trump administration's attitude toward longtime allies like Canada and dozens of countries in Europe may lead some to question the wisdom of investing further in really expensive US weapon systems like the coming F-47.

"Another factor right now, of course, is that the attitude we've taken towards our allies is driving a lot of them to rethink their degree of cooperation and commitment and reliance on US sources for equipment," he said.

Kendall also highlighted Trump's claim that the export version of the F-47 sold to US allies could have downgraded capabilities, the reasoning being that allies today might not be allies in the future.

"We basically have very close allies traditionally, and we share some of the best of our capabilities with them because we have a lot of trust in them," Kendall said. "This administration doesn't seem to be taking that point of view."

The F-47 is being designed to fly alongside autonomous drones, known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft. But Kendall said there were questions about how these drones will work with future crewed fighters.

"There isn't a readiness at this point, a confidence in the uncrewed aircraft to bet entirely on them, right? And I tend to share that view," he said.

Drone technology is being deployed across the US military, but autonomous drone technology is still in a heavily experimental phase.

Even so, Kendall said there was an urgent need for the US to upgrade its Air Force, where the average aircraft is about 30 years old.

The planned upgrades come as rivals like China appear to be investing in the development of new stealth fighters.

 A DARTS ace has shared his World Championship payslip – to show earnings are not as “Pally” as you might imagine.

World No 39 Matthew Edgar is a three-time contestant at the Ally Pally.

But the 38-year-old has revealed how he once scooped £6,800 for a first-round defeat, only to cough up around £1.6k in “deductions”.

It comes as PDC chiefs announced prize money for the showpiece event will DOUBLE in 2026.

That means Luke Littler would pick up £1million if he retains his title – compared to the £500k he won three months ago.

Edgar posted a video on TikTok explaining what happened cash-wise when he competed in the ultimate oche occasion.

“Prime Time” – as the Daventry ace is known – suffered an opening-round exit twice but reached the second stage in 2021.

He made £30k in all from that trio of Ally Pally appearances.

That was in the form of two £7.5k sums plus one £15k prize – something of a juicy jackpot for Edgar.

But after displaying his remittance notice from the PDC on social media, he told how that princely figure was far from the final story.

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Edgar said: “That doesn’t mean what you get paid as a player.

“There are deductions which need to come off this. All PDC players are self-employed contractors, not employees of the PDC and so we get remittance notices. 

“We get deductions, two per cent is your PDC levy – that comes off everything before you even get it and comes from playing on the Challenge tour to being world champion.

“We all pay two per cent on our prize money before we even get it.

“Not only that, you’ve got to consider your membership fees – £500 is your membership which goes before you even get it. That’s a once a year fee and your DRA fee as well.”

If all that detail is giving you an Ed-ache, he went on to explain how there was still more to come – or rather to go – in his financial tale.

Edgar added: “£6,800 is what came into my bank account from the first round defeat. 

“From that, I’ve got to deduct my travel, my hotel and any other costs with that. Then, the money that is left is open to tax.”

Nonetheless, he still finished with about £5.2k – not bad for a brief adventure in one of sport’s most festive and fan-packed events.