Following the F-35 program, which has been the subject of many investigations in Congress, details about the F-47 fighter jet, the USA’s 6th generation air superiority project, have begun to become clear. In the analysis by the National Security Journal (NSJ) in the USA, based on Pentagon sources, it was emphasized that the F-47 was developed especially for possible war scenarios against China in the Pacific. According to the analysis, while the range of the platform is almost doubled compared to the F-35, it will also have the capacity to manage many unmanned aerial vehicles at the same time, thanks to artificial intelligence-supported command-control systems. The aircraft’s technologies are kept secret.
BATTLE NETWORK, NOT AN AIRPLANE
Known for its closeness to the US War Department (formerly the Department of Defense) According to NSJ’s analysis, the F-47 is designed as an “air command center” rather than a classic warplane. Many unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV/SIHA) will be able to be controlled from the cockpit of the aircraft. Thanks to this system, unmanned platforms will test enemy air defenses, apply electronic warfare or carry out direct attacks. According to the information obtained, this structure represents the most advanced stage of “manned-unmanned integration” in the US’s war doctrine. Artificial intelligence supported systems; It will accelerate target detection, verification and firing processes by analyzing data from sensors.
IT IS DESIGNED FOR THE CHINA WAR
In the analysis, it was stated that the F-47 could reach speeds over Mach 2 (over 2,500 km) and have combat power in an area of approximately 1,900 km. This value provides operational flexibility almost twice that of the F-35. According to US Air Force (USAF) data, the F-47 is at the center of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program and is designed to replace the F-22 Raptor. US Air Force officials announced that more than 185 F-47s are planned to be procured. Within the scope of the program, the first flight is aimed to be made in 2028, the aircraft will become operational by 2029 and will be put into active use in the 2030s. It is also among the information disclosed by Ministry sources that the aircraft was designed to fight against China in the wide area of the Pacific Ocean.
IT WILL LOOK LIKE A BIRD ON THE RADAR
According to NSJ analysis, the design of the F-47 will have a “blended wing body”, that is, a body-wing integrated structure, unlike classical warplanes. It is also aimed to make radar visibility close to zero by minimizing vertical surfaces. It will be difficult to detect the aircraft with radar absorbing composite materials, heat signature reducing technologies and engine systems embedded in the fuselage. This approach in analysis It was developed similar to the “look like a bird on the radar” principle used in B-2 bombers. was expressed.
THEIR TECHNOLOGIES ARE KEPT LIKE A SECRET
Within the scope of the program announced by US President Donald Trump on March 21, 2025, Boeing was awarded an engineering and production contract worth over $20 billion. USAF officials announced that the program was temporarily stopped in 2024 due to the cost of the F-35 approximately tripling, but after the evaluations, it was concluded that the NGAD project was “inevitable”. Launched in 2014 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – DARPA, which undertakes secret military projects in the USA It was stated that the technologies developed within the scope of X-plane tests and kept under high-level confidentiality status were also integrated into the F-47.
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