The F-47 will likely never number more than a few hundred aircraft, narrowing its use to contested airspace where it can benefit from its advanced stealth features. 

The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is centered around the F-47, a manned fighter contract that was awarded to Boeing last spring. But the NGAD program contains more than just the F-47—the program also includes unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs), for manned-unmanned teaming, and a series of sensors, networks, and other weapons.

The F-47 is the highlight, though, with an emphasis on range, survivability, and information dominance; it is not expected to serve as the Air Force’s everyday workhorse, but as a replacement to the F-22, geared toward the highest-end fights only. 

A Brief History of the NGAD Program

The NGAD concept accelerated in the late 2010s, driven by concerns that the F-22 fleet was too small—with fewer than 200 airframes complete—and that the F-35, more of a digital node than a dogfighter, was not optimized for air dominance. The NGAD program drew motivation from the F-22 and the F-35, but also incorporated lessons from their development in an effort to avoid their respective shortcomings—namely the small numbers of the F-22 and the slow, complex, and vastly over-budget design process for the F-35.

The exact configuration of the F-47 is classified. But the likely characteristics can be inferred from the program requirements. Stealth will probably be optimized for broadband survivability. The body will probably be long and blended for long range operations. The internal volume will likely be large, for the sake of fuel and cooling. Expect less emphasis on extreme maneuverability than the F-22, with more emphasis on range and sensor integration in the mold of the F-35. Although the design features have not yet been finalized—or even disclosed beyond the vague diagrams released by the Air Force—the plane’s design may be tailless, and will likely feature an adaptive cycle engine. 

How Will the NGAD Fighter Be Deployed?

The F-47 will be intended for penetrating contested airspace and establishing air superiority early in a conflict. The jet will act as a sensor hub and mission commander, teamed with CCA drones that extend the platform’s reach, weapons capacity, and risk tolerance. Each NGAD pilot will likely manage multiple CCAs, making the NGAD a quarterback of sorts. 

Notably, as an extremely specialized aircraft, the F-47 likely won’t be used for high sortie volume or routine strike missions. Strategically, the investment in the program and its next-generation stealth characteristics signals that the US expects to use it mostly within denied airspace. The program also implicitly acknowledges through its emphasis on range the vulnerability of tanker fleets and the basing constraints of the Indo-Pacific. 

The program raises hard questions for the Air Force. How many of the sixth-generation fighters are enough? How many can the Pengon afford? The F-47, on paper, does not appear to be a high-quantity asset, despite efforts to avoid the shortcomings of an F-22-sized fleet. The F-47 appears to represent a bet that quality, and advanced networking, can overcome quantity—otherwise the development effort would be going toward something cheaper, easier to produce at larger scales. 

Ultimately, the F-47 is not about directly replacing the F-22, but about redefining air dominance more broadly. The program’s success won’t be able one-on-one dogfighting capabilities, a valuable metric in evaluating past jets; rather, success will depend more on integration with other platforms, the ability to operate as a unified front of systems. The NGAD instead reflects how the US believes future wars will be fought. It’s a big bet, an educated guess on the way things will one day be. 

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

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