Development of the United States' first sixth-generation air superiority fighter, the F-47, is proceeding. The high-tech aircraft is expected to make its first flight in 2028, and will, if all goes well, enter service in the mid 2030s. That shows a little celerity in development that we haven't seen in other major aircraft rollouts.
The problem is, China's sixth-generation fighters are expected to be deployed much sooner; two are already in flight testing.
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force General David Allvin has confirmed that the service’s first sixth generation fighter the F-47 is scheduled to make its first flight some time in 2028, with the aircraft expected to enter service sometime in the mid-2030s. The Air Force had previously stated that the F-47 was expected to make its first flight before the end of President Donald Trump’s term in office on January 20, 2029, with confirmation that the aircraft would not fly before 2028 placing the program four years behind China’s two known rival programs developed by the Chengdu and Shenyang aircraft corporations, which were both confirmed in December 2024 to already be in flight testing.“We [have] got to go fast. I got to tell you, team, it’s almost 2026. The team is committed to get the first one flying in 2028,” Allvin stated, adding: “In the few short months since we made the announcement, they [Boeing] are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. We have to go fast.”
Indeed, we have to go as fast as we can; during the last couple of Democrat administrations, we lost a lot of ground.
Read More: 2 Down, 10 to Go: House Approves FY26 Defense Funding Bill in Late-Night Vote
SecDef Introduces a New Generation of American Air Superiority - the Boeing F-47
China has a big advantage over us in one respect: They don't have the worry that an incoming administration will be hostile to military spending and development will be suspended for four or eight years. The Trump administration's War Department (I still like the sound of that) needs to boost this development. The 2028 election is a long way off, but the smart play would be to make that the deadline for the F-47 and the B-21 to at least be in production, if not in service. China is certainly ramming its projects through:
In September 2022 head of the U.S. Air Combat Command General Mark Kelly warned that China was well positioned to begin fielding sixth generation fighters before the United States. Officials have widely made similar warnings, with China’s ability to bring its first fifth generation fighter, the J-20, from its first demonstrator flight to service entry in just six years, drawing a highly unfavourable precedent when compared to the F-35 and F-22, which both took 15 years. Alluding to the speed at which China is working to develop its rival fighters, Allvin noted: “The adversary is not taking a knee. They’re not stopping and saying, ‘well, maybe the U.S. slows down, we’ll slow down too.’ Maybe we can take a knee, and that’s not what they’re doing.”
We do have one advantage: China's tech is mostly borrowed, and Chinese industry has a reputation for slipshod quality. But quantity has a quality all its own, and China is stocking up hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of missiles, combat aircraft, and munitions, not to mention soldiers.
America has some catching up to do, and we'd best do it fast.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
Help us report on Trump and Hegesth's successes as they make our military great again. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.