The first F-47 next-generation Air Dominance fighter will be ready to fly in 2028, Gen. David W. Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, said Monday at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
“It’s the platform that, along with all of the rest of the systems, is going to ensure dominance into the future,” Allvin said. “We’ve got to go fast.
“I’ve got to tell you, team, it’s almost 2026. The team is committed to getting the first one flying in 2028.”
The news comes just six months after President Donald Trump awarded Boeing the contract to produce the Air Force’s first sixth-generation fighter.
“In the few short months since we made the announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article,” Allvin said. “We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
The F-47, designed to operate with collaborative combat aircraft, will boast a combat radius of more than 1,000 miles — nearly double that of the F-22. The Air Force plans to acquire at least 185 of the fighters as part of its modernization push alongside the B-21 Raider stealth bomber program.
Allvin emphasized the need to maintain rapid progress in light of global threats, citing July’s Operation Midnight Hammer — a massive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities — as a demonstration of U.S. capability.
He warned that adversaries like China, which U.S. assessments say is preparing for potential action against Taiwan by 2027, are advancing quickly.
“When the president asks tonight, next week, next year, next decade, Can you still do that? We have to be able to say, Hell yes we can,” Allvin declared.
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