Defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has dominated the stealth fighter jet game, building not only the first operational stealth aircraft but also both US fifth-generation stealth fighter jets.
But the Trump administration’s new decision on the new Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter was a stunning upset for Lockheed’s industry-leading Skunk Works.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US Air Force’s new sixth-generation stealth fighter, dubbed the F-47, will be built by Boeing. He said that the new fighter aircraft will be the most advanced, capable, and lethal aircraft “ever built,” with unprecedented speed, maneuverability, and payload capacity, as well as “state-of-the-art stealth technologies.”
A US Air Force F-22 Raptor deploys flares during a performance. US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stefan Alvarez
Lockheed, a leading player in stealth aircraft for nearly five decades, expressed disappointment in the decision.
“Lockheed Martin continues to work to advance critical technologies to outpace emerging threats and deliver true 21st Century Security® solutions to our nation’s military forces,” the company said in a statement. “While disappointed with this outcome, we are confident we delivered a competitive solution. We will await further discussions with the US Air Force.”
A leader in stealth aircraft
In the 1970s, long before the company merged with Martin Marietta in 1995, Lockheed Corporation’s secret Skunk Works division developed the world’s first operational stealth aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk; it was designed around the idea of evading radar detection. From its introduction in 1983, the aircraft became a major Air Force asset and was later known for its prominent role in the first Gulf War.
The Nighthawks flew over one thousand sorties in that war and struck Iraqi targets with a high success rate and without suffering any combat losses. The penetrating attack aircraft’s stealth capabilities garnered much attention.
The aircraft has retired from combat, but it is still used as a training tool.
The F-117 Nighthawk was a dominant element of the Air Force. It’s still used to train pilots today. Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II/DoD
Lockheed was a prime contractor for the fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, as part of a partnership project that also saw contributions from Boeing and Pratt & Whitney.
First introduced in 2005 as an air dominance solution to Russian and Chinese threats, the supersonic stealth fighter has long been considered the top US air superiority fighter.
But its matchless capabilities and whopping $350 million price tag per fighter jet were overkill for the counter-insurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last of the F-22s was delivered in 2012.
The Air Force has been on the hunt for its successor, envisioning the the replacement to be a family of systems that can boost US air dominance by leveraging drones and other advanced capabilities. In 2021, Air Force leadership hinted the F-22 would not be part of the future fleet. The F-22 Raptor is expected to be replaced by the NGAD in 2030.
Lockheed was also the prime contractor for another fifth-generation stealth fighter, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The company went head-to-head with Boeing for this program, winning a contract with its X-35 design over the competing X-32.
The F-35 fighter jet is available in three variants: conventional takeoff and landing, short-takeoff and vertical landing, and carrier-based operations. The advanced single-engine fighter is flown by the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as US partners and allies.
F-35B Lightning jets conduct take-offs and landings to maintain their carrier qualifications on the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales on February 21. UK Ministry of Defense photo
The F-35 is one of the world’s most advanced weapons programs; it is also the most expensive, with an expected lifetime cost of more than $2 trillion. It’s been sharply criticized by some, such as Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, for its design, costs, sustainability challenges, and developmental setbacks.
While the F-47 award was a blow to Lockheed, it was a much-needed win for Boeing after a rough 2024 saw structural malfunctions, such as the Alaskan Airlines Flight 1282 door emergency, delayed production on new planes, and other company issues.
“We recognize the importance of designing, building and delivering a 6th-generation fighter capability for the US Air Force,” said Steve Parker, interim president and chief executive officer for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, per the company’s statement.
“In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defense business, and we are ready to provide the most advanced and innovative NGAD aircraft needed to support the mission.”
The new F-47 stems from two X-planes built under Defense Advanced Research Project Agency research and development contracts by Boeing and Lockheed; that project came out of a 2014 air dominance study. The secret designs laid the groundwork for the new sixth-gen F-47 fighter program.
