The U.S. Air Force’s first F-47 is in build at Boeing with first flight planned for 2028, Gen. David Allvin said during the service’s annual gathering at National Harbor. The remarks marked the program’s clearest public schedule since the contract award in March.
The selection moved NGAD’s crewed fighter from competition to engineering and manufacturing development. The award went public on March 21, 2025, and covered the design and build of the sixth-generation platform, the Air Force designated F-47. The department and company confirmed the award and the shift into the EMD phase in parallel notices.
Allvin tied the first flight target to work now underway on the initial article. He delivered the update at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference and linked it to the rapid start following the March decision. Independent trade reporters at the event recorded the same timeline and described the status as “already being built.”
Boeing’s fighter business in St. Louis featured prominently in the program’s early public moments. Video shown at the keynote captured the production line’s reaction to the selection announcement. Regional outlets and defense press coverage have since pointed to the St. Louis line as the locus for assembly during EMD.
Boeing NGAD contract and F-47 designation March 2025
The Air Force framed the March award as the formal start of F-47 engineering after years of risk reduction and demonstrators. The contract described a path to a crewed air-superiority successor to the F-22. Financial briefings pegged the initial EMD value above $20 billion, with procurement to be defined as the program matures.
The F-47 designation appeared with the award and in later service communications. Trade press and official statements have used F-47 consistently since March, noting the intent to replace the F-22 in the air-to-air role.
Background material says the NGAD effort built and flew at least one full-scale demonstrator earlier in the decade. Former acquisition chief Will Roper disclosed a demonstrator in 2020, and later interviews referenced multiple X-planes tied to the initiative.
F-47 combat radius, speed and performance figures on record
On May 13, 2025, Allvin published an infographic listing a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles and a top speed greater than Mach 2. It also set a notional operating window later in the decade. The post circulated widely across defense media.
Coverage compared those figures to current U.S. fighters. The F-22’s published combat radius is about 590 nautical miles, and the F-35A’s about 670 nautical miles. Reports noted the F-47 would exceed both on range and confirmed a speed target above Mach 2.
Program communications in late September reiterated the May performance figures and re-stated the plan to buy at least 185 aircraft. The fleet size aligns with the present F-22 inventory.
Officials and trade sources keep the discussion at the level of range, speed, and teaming architecture. Public details stop short of payloads or sensor modes which reflect classification limits.
Public, on-record figures as of Oct 4, 2025
- Combat radius: more than 1,000 nautical miles.
- Top speed: greater than Mach 2.
- Planned fleet size: at least 185 aircraft.
- First flight target: 2028.
Collaborative Combat Aircraft teaming concept and fleet planning
The next-generation fighter will operate with autonomous collaborative combat aircraft. The Air Force has pursued CCA on a separate path with multiple vendors. Briefings to Congress and service releases describe a planning assumption of roughly 1,000 CCAs across increments.
Acquisition steps in 2024 and 2025 narrowed the initial CCA field and funded detailed designs and test vehicles. In April 2024, the department announced two teams for the first increment, with further increments to open competition. Reports outlined a schedule to reach a production selection mid-decade and field operational fleets before the decade’s end.
Leaders describe pairing multiple CCAs to one crewed platform to extend sensor reach, carry extra weapons, and move risk off the manned jet. The May figure set placed the fighter and a CCA side by side, with the drone class shown at more than 700 nautical miles combat radius in that image.
According to industry sources, the technical center of gravity is data-sharing, mission management, and human-machine teaming. They point to autonomy flight trials on modified F-16s as stepping stones. The service’s top civilian planned to fly in one such AI-controlled aircraft in 2024, a maturity signal for the control stack the enterprise wants on operational systems.
Program budget lines over the last two cycles track with that pairing concept. Public documents showed a combined NGAD and CCA funding profile through the five-year plan with a ramp in development spending for both.
Production site schedule flight test and 2028 first flight milestone
Manufacturing for the first article is underway now under the EMD award. Defense officials confirm the build start and align it with a 2028 first flight objective. Trade media at the conference reported the same and used the phrasing already being built into coverage.
A structured flight-test program will follow engine runs and ground checks. The service hasn’t published the first-flight site, but developmental test for new fighters is usually at Edwards Air Force Base and at contractor ranges. The 2020 demonstrator disclosures suggest supporting infrastructure already exists.
The May graphic placed operational introduction in the latter half of the decade. Subsequent remarks refined only the first-flight marker to 2028 and left initial operating capability to later decisions. People familiar with the schedule describe a staged approach – finish hardware integration on the first article, expand in flight test, then move to operational test with production-representative aircraft.
Procurement intent remains at least 185 aircraft. The figure tracks the current F-22 inventory and has appeared in multiple official or semi-official venues since May. Analysts note it aligns with earlier NGAD discussions of roughly 200 manned jets paired with large numbers of CCAs.
According to industry sources, the St. Louis site is preparing tooling and flow tailored to the F-47’s low-observable outer mold line, with long-lead materials and specialized structures already on order.
Defense officials confirm the intent remains to replace the F-22 with the F-47 and to field it as the crewed node within a larger set of systems.
REFERENCE SOURCES
- https://www.twz.com/air/20-billion-price-tag-to-complete-development-of-usafs-next-generation-fighter
- https://www.defensenews.com/air/2025/09/22/first-f-47-now-being-built-will-fly-in-2028-us-air-force-chief/
- https://www.airandspaceforces.com/allvin-first-f-47-being-built-first-flight-2028/
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- https://aviationweek.com/special-topics/air-dominance/nearly-decade-long-story-led-ngad-flight-demonstrator
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