The F-47, Another New, Pricey, Warplane for the Air Force

W.J. Astore

A Pilot in the Cockpit Is a Major Win for My Old Service

Recent Air Force projects have not been entirely successful, to put it gently. The F-22 Raptor was never built in the quantities the Air Force desired, nor was the B-2 stealth bomber. The F-35 has proven to be a disappointment, an overpriced “Ferrari” by the Air Force’s own admission that spends too much time in the shop even as its price over time continues to soar. The less said about the KC-46 tanker the better, as its future remains very much up in the air (or stuck on the ground, leaking fuel).

No worries. The Air Force and Boeing have been rewarded for their stellar performance with a new jet announced by President Trump yesterday, the F-47. (I don’t know what happened to the F-36 through 46 models.)

Look how badass that F-47 “bird” looks in that artist’s depiction!

Its key attribute, besides the usual hype about stealth and ultra-powerful engines and super-sensors and the like, is that it’s got a human pilot in the cockpit. This wasn’t a foregone conclusion, given Elon Musk’s belief in drones, whether fully automated or flown by pilots on the ground, at a distance. Keeping men and women in the cockpit was, is, and will always remain the most important goal of the Air Force, built as it is around the allure of pilots as masters of the air.

An interesting feature of this “6th generation” program is that the pilot will allegedly be able to control autonomous drones acting as “loyal wingmen” to the piloted F-47. That complexity should add scores of billions to the eventual price tag.

Trump always likes to boast that stealth planes like the proposed F-47, which have a low RCS, or radar cross section, will literally be invisible. The enemy will never see the F-47 coming, Trump said, jumping on board the hype train. Meanwhile, Boeing, the main contractor for the F-47, is already reaping rewards as its stock price has climbed at Mach 2 in the aftermath of Trump’s announcement.

The initial budget request of $20 billion will soon rocket skyward as the usual cost overruns kick in their afterburners. The Air Force promises the F-47 will cost less than the F-22 per unit, but if you believe that, take a look at the rising costs of the B-2, or the F-35, or the KC-46.

America may be a shitstorm today, but no other country burns through money for needless warplanes than the great USA. You may have stellar bullet trains, China, but do you have invisible 6th generation air supremacy jets? I thought not. USA! USA!

7 thoughts on “The F-47, Another New, Pricey, Warplane for the Air Force”

  3. Significantly, all the whiz-bang stuff is never and can never be used in some super-war. Wasn’t an F111 used to bomb Libya way back when. I don’t think there was any air defense, so couldn’t a B17 have done the same job?

    Something to note – all the little lapel pins politicians love to wear these days. Is this a start on the chest full of awards the military brass wears? At least the brass did something to earn each award.

    I noticed a newly painted railroad engine (AMTRAK?) pass by yesterday. It had the silhouette of a saluting soldier on prominent display.

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    1. A saluting soldier?? Please tell me it was just your imagination, the glint of the sun or something. Otherwise we’ll be seeing them on school buses (one of the few functions remaining for the DOE), all public transit buses and subway cars (while they’re still operating), and the sides of SpaceX rockets. And on post office windows, once it’s privatized.

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  5. “the F-47. (I don’t know what happened to the F-36 through 46 models.)”

    I saw somewhere that the designation was meant to stroke Trump’s ego, being the 47th (and likely last) president of the United States. “The generals picked a title, and it’s a beautiful number,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.

    One thing (of many) I can’t quite grasp is that this “6th-generation” fighter is (seemingly) supposed to be a major advance over the 5th-generation F-35, an aircraft that can’t meet its performance criteria, has a low mission capable rate, and is projected to cost $1.7 – $2.0 TRILLION over its projected lifetime, the most expensive fighter in history. This augurs well.

    Trump signed a $20 billion development contract, saying “We’ve given an order for a lot. We can’t tell you the price.” That’s his business acumen speaking. And as Hegseth (beaming with delight) was in the Oval Office with Trump but not Musk, we can assume DOGE need not apply over this historic boondoggle in the making.

    Evidently it’s not the wild blue yonder we’re off to, but over the cliff.

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