The Air Force graph revealed that the plane would have a top speed of approximately Mach 2+, or around 1,550 miles per hour, similar to the F-22 Raptor.
In March, President Donald Trump revealed with great fanfare the Air Force’s next stealth fighter jet. The Boeing F-47— is set to become the first 6th-generation stealth fighter jet to ever take to the skies.
Now, in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin revealed some interesting information about the upcoming jet.
The Air Force Just Revealed the NGAD’s Top Speed
The most senior officer in the Air Force posted a graphic about the trajectory of U.S. fighter jets. The visual graph started from 4th-generation aircraft, like the F-15E/EX Strike Eagle/Eagle II and F-16 Fighting Falcon, moved to 5th-generation stealth fighter jets, like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, before concluding with the upcoming sixth-generation F-47.
With regard to the F-47, the Air Force graph revealed that the plane would have a top speed of approximately Mach 2+, or around 1,550 miles per hour, similar to the F-22 Raptor. The Air Force plans to purchase approximately 185 F-47s—in order to replace, on a one-to-one ratio, the existing F-22 fleet and assume their air dominance mission set. As far as combat radius, the mileage a fighter jet can cover under combat conditions, the sixth-generation stealth fighter jet will have a combat range of over 1,000 nautical miles, or almost 1,200 miles.
In addition to the F-47, the graph showed two unmanned aerial systems that are part of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. The Air Force expects the F-47, which will be a manned fighter jet, to work closely with drones. The CCA program is currently working with the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A drones that are designed for offensive missions and air superiority. In other words, the Air Force envisions F-47s controlling several drones to shoot down enemy fighter jets and clear the skies for other U.S. and allied aircraft.
The F-47’s Incredibly Fast Rollout Time
The Air Force expects to have an F-47 operational capability between 2025 and 2029. As far as fighter jet procurement programs go, this is an extremely fast pace, and it could very well mean an operational aircraft by the end of the year. Typically, fighter jets take decades from the design table to operational missions.
Another interesting point about the capabilities of the sixth-generation fighter jet is the stealth designation of “stealth++” that the Air Force gave it. The Air Force gave the F-22 Raptor a designation of “stealth+” and the F-35 Lightning II a designation of “stealth.” In giving it its higher designation, the Air Force suggests that it will be superior to those of its older stealth cousins—though the service did not provide any further information about the new fighter jet’s low observability capabilities.
“Our Air Force will continue to be the world’s best example of speed, agility, and lethality. Modernization 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,” Gen. Allvin said on X (formerly Twitter).
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Shutterstock / Mike Mareen.
