US President Donald Trump | Photo: AFP
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the award to Boeing of a major contract for the Air Force's high-tech next-generation F-47 fighter plane.
"After a rigorous and thorough competition between some of America's top aerospace companies, the Air Force is going to be awarding the contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance platform to Boeing," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The White House announcement followed a fierce competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the coveted contract to develop the aircraft intended to be the cornerstone of the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
"The Next Generation of Air Dominance sends a very direct and clear message to our allies and our enemies that we are not going anywhere!" wrote Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, in X.
Critics have questioned the cost and the necessity of the programme as the Pentagon is still struggling to fully produce its current most advanced jet, the F-35, which is expected to cost taxpayers more than USD 1.7 trillion over its lifespan.
In addition, the Pentagon's future stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, will have many of the same cutting edge technologies in advanced materials, AI, propulsion and stealth.
More than 1,100 F-35s have already been built for the US and multiple international partners.
A fleet of about 100 future B-21 stealth bombers at an estimated total cost of at least USD 130 billion is also planned. The first B-21 aircraft are now in test flights.
With evolving drone and space warfare likely to be the centre of any fight with China, Dan Grazier, a military procurement analyst, questions whether “another exquisite manned fighter jet really is the right platform going forward.” Grazier, director of the national security reform program at the Stimson Center, said USD 20 billion is "just seed money. The total costs coming down the road will be hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Few details of what the new NGAD fighter would look like have been public, although test versions are said to have been flown already. Renderings by both Lockheed Martin and Boeing have highlighted a flat, tail-less aircraft with a sharp nose.
A separate Navy contract for its version of the NGAD fighter is still under competition between Northrop Grumman and Boeing. (With inputs from AP)
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