Sixth-gen fighter aircraft: Trump announces F-47 fighter jet, Boeing wins $20-billion contract

US’s next-generation fighter jet

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that Boeing will build the US Air Force’s future fighter jet, which the Pentagon says will have stealth and penetration capabilities that far exceed those of its current fleet and is essential in a potential conflict with China.

Trump announced the award at the White House with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth said the future fleet “sends a very clear, direct message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere.”

"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

Known as Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, the manned jet will serve as quarterback to a fleet of future drone aircraft designed to be able to penetrate the air defenses of China and any other potential foes. The initial contract to proceed with production on a version for the Air Force version is worth an estimated $20 billion.

Boeing shares rose as much as 5.7% while Lockheed erased earlier gains to fall 4.3% as of 11:32 a.m. in New York.

The new fighter is expected to enter service in the 2030s if everything goes according to plan, according to Bloomberg. While the F-22 boasts stealth capabilities and a supersonic cruise speed, the plane was developed and fielded before the military’s all-in bet on drones as an extension of US power.

Like the F-22, the next-gen jet is intended to be an air-to-air fighter. While the better-known F-35 also has an air-to-air role, it’s additionally relied upon to collect and distribute air and ground target information.