NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The F-47 is expected to make its first flight in 2028, the Air Force’s top officer said Monday—advancing the timeline by a year.
Officials had previously said the sixth-gen combat aircraft would fly by January 2029.
“We got to go fast,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said during his keynote address at the Air-Sea-Cyber Conference here. “It’s almost 2026. The team is committed to getting the first one flying in 2028.”
Manufacturing has begun on the first F-47, Allvin added
Public details about the F-47 have been few. In May, Allvin posted a chart that said the F-47 will be operational in “2025 to 2029,” have a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles, and fly faster than Mach 2. For comparison, the F-22 Raptor has a combat radius of 590 nautical miles and a top speed over Mach 2, while the F-35 has a combat radius of 670 nautical miles and a top speed of Mach 1.6.
The graphic also offered a vague assessment of each jet’s stealth capabilities: the F-47 will have “stealth++” capabilities, while the F-22 has “stealth+” and the F-35 is merely listed as “stealth.”
Bradley Peniston contributed to this report.
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