US Air Force chief reveals further details about F-47 fighter

On social media, General Allvin highlighted that the F-47 would be expected to see some form of operational capability between 2025 and 2029, with a minimum number of aircraft of 185 airframes, or a one-for-one replacement for the F-22 Raptor fleet.

General Allvin said in an X post, “Our @usairforce will continue to be the world’s best example of speed, agility, and lethality. Modernisation means fielding a collection of assets that provide unique dilemmas for adversaries – matching capabilities to threats – while keeping us on the right side of the cost curve.”

In addition to this, the information revealed by Gen Allvin stated that the aircraft will have a combat radius in excess of 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 kilometres), a major increase over the F-22 Raptor’s combat radius of just 590 nautical miles (1,092 kilometres) with a top speed in excess of Mach 2 and major enhancements to the stealth capabilities of the aircraft.

For reference, the F-35A Lightning II, operated by the US Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, has a combat radius of 670 nautical miles (1240 kilometres) with a top speed of Mach 1.6.

The United States Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program was initiated in the mid-2010s, and emerged as a response to the rapid advancements in military aviation by near-peer competitors, notably China and Russia.

Its development marks a shift away from traditional single-platform solutions, like the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lightning II, towards a broader system-of-systems approach. This includes a manned sixth-generation fighter aircraft at the core, supported by an array of uncrewed systems and advanced networking technologies.

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Early conceptual work for NGAD was conducted under the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and matured through classified research and development. By 2020, the program had already produced a demonstrator aircraft that had reportedly flown.

The NGAD platform is expected to feature advanced stealth capabilities, artificial intelligence-assisted operations, modular weapons systems and enhanced range and survivability. It will be adaptable across different theatres of operation, with tailored variants for the Indo-Pacific and European regions – this flexibility is intended to counter evolving threats in contested environments.

The program also introduces the concept of CCA, uncrewed autonomous drones designed to operate in concert with the manned fighter, expanding combat effectiveness and survivability. The General Atomics YFQ-42A and the Anduril YFQ-44A each have an expected operational capability in line with the F-47, in excess of 1,000 airframes to be procured and a combat radius of 700+ nautical miles or 1,296 kilometres at a minimum.