It’s a next-generation fighter that President Donald Trump “can’t tell you the price” of.
It’s a state-of-the-art program which should, if Boeing is able to follow through on it, make America dominant in the skies again.
But did President Trump inspire the name? That’s the question many are asking now that the F-47 program has been announced.
In case you haven’t heard, the Trump administration’s Pentagon announced the F-47 last week; the so-called sixth-generation fighter project is meant to replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in the Air Force’s fleet.
The Next Generation Air Dominance fighter will be “a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones,” according to Reuters.
The contract for the fighters is a huge boost for Boeing, which has seen issues with both their passenger airliners and spacecraft in recent years.
It’s meanwhile another blow to Lockheed Martin, which also got eliminated from the competition to build the Navy’s new carrier-based stealth fighter earlier this month and has also been in the doghouse with the Pentagon and the Trump administration over delays in upgrading its F-35 fighter.
Take a look at what the Air Force calls “the most advanced, lethal, & adaptable fighter ever developed.”
Dominate the Skies
Get your first look at what will be the most advanced, lethal, & adaptable fighter ever developed… the U.S. Air Force’s F-47. pic.twitter.com/ca1CeBABb5
— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) March 21, 2025
Did Trump inspire the name of the F-47?
“We’ve given an order for a lot. We can’t tell you the price,” Trump said from the Oval Office Friday.
“Our allies are calling constantly. They want to buy them also,” he added.
The contract, according to multiple sources, will be worth more than $20 billion. Cost projections on each F-47 may be a sticking point, as former Biden-era Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall thought the projected $300 million-a-fighter price was too expensive for their tastes.
“That was too rich, according to Kendall, who expressed interest in an $80-100 million price tag,” Axios reported.
The F-22’s costs were also a limiting factor in the Raptor’s adoption by the Air Force, with fewer than 200 built due to a price tag well in excess of $300 million and high operating expenses.
However, many sources focused on the name of the plane.
Axios: “President Trump, the 47th president, claimed ‘the generals’ picked the F-47 designation, calling it ‘a beautiful number.’”
Reuters: “Trump, the 47th president, announced the new jet’s name, the F-47.”
The New York Times: “The president declared 47 ‘a beautiful number,’ but did not announce a nickname for the warplane.”
The mind reels at the possibilities. The F-47 Deplorable? The F-47 Deporter?
The F-47 MAGA might be a bit too on the nose, but hey — at least we won’t have the F-47 Nonbinary Butterfly, as we’d likely have if Kamala Harris had been in the position (shudder) to approve this thing.
Whatever the case, it’s unclear whether Boeing threw the 47 in to honor the president who gave it the go-ahead, but it’s a fitting tribute — and it can’t get here soon enough.
“The Pentagon in its annual report on Chinese firepower warned the People’s Liberation Army was beefing up ‘with the delivery of domestically built aircraft and a wide range’ of drones,” Axios noted. “China at the end of last year unveiled three novel aircraft, including a fighter and an airborne early-warning and control plane with hallmark radome.”
“I’m convinced from the analysis that NGAD is necessary,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in an interview published before the F-47’s unveiling. “I have an opinion, and I’ll offer that to the senior leadership. I can see the difference that it makes.”
“We know every other plane,” Trump said at the unveiling, per the Times. “I’ve seen every one of them and it’s not even close. This is a next level.”
One can only hope so.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
