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First F-47 now being built, will fly in 2028: US Air Force chief

22 September 2025 23:55 (UTC +04:00)

The Air Force’s first F-47 fighter is now being built by Boeing, and the advanced jet is expected to have its initial flight in 2028, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday, APA reports.

Allvin, speaking at the Air and Space Forces’ Air, Space and Cyber Conference, said that Boeing’s team worked quickly to start manufacturing the sixth-generation fighter after their selection was announced in March.

“It’s the platform that, along with the rest of the [accompanying family of] systems, is going to ensure [air] dominance into the future,” Allvin said. “In the few short months since we made the [F-47] announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”

The F-47, previously known as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), is intended to replace the F-22 Raptor. Little is known about the highly classified aircraft, but it is expected to have state-of-the-art stealth capabilities, weapons and engines and fly with autonomous drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft.

In May, Allvin posted a graphic online that said the F-47 will have a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles, and be able to fly at speeds greater than Mach 2, or more than 1,500 miles per hour.