Boeing has started to build the first F-47 aircraft and plans to fly it the first time in 2028, according to a top US Air Force Officer at an industry event this week.
Speaking during the keynote at the Air and Space Forces Association’s (AFA’s) Air, Space & Cyber conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Monday, US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin said service officials are planning for the first flight of the F-47 jet fighter to take place by 2028. Boeing was awarded the contract to develop the jet in March.
As reported by Air & Space Force Magazine, Allvin said, “In the few short months since we made the announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
When the first details of the F-47 were published in social media post in May, the timeline for first flight was by the end of 2029.
Other details revealed by Allvin in the post for the sixth-generation fighter included a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles, a speed exceeding Mach 2, and the US Air Force’s intention to purchase at least 185 aircraft. The F-47 is intended to replace the F-22 as the US Air Force’s primary air superiority fighter.
Boeing’s design for the F-47 was picked as part of the US Government’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) contest earlier this year.
