Boeing beats Lockheed for next- generation F-47 US fighter jet contract

WASHINGTON: Boeing Co. won a contract to design and build the US’s next-generation fighter jet, beating out rival Lockheed Martin Corp. for the multibillion dollar program.

President Donald Trump announced the decision Friday morning at the White House alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

The new fighter jet, known as the F-47, “will ensure that the USA continues to dominate the skies,” Trump said.

Boeing shares rose as much as 5.7% while Lockheed erased earlier gains to fall 4.3% as of 11:32 a.m. in New York.

The award caps more than two years of competition between the defense giants’ bids for the full-scale development phase of the Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter, or NGAD. The jet, which will replace the F-22 Raptor, is envisioned to operate in tandem with drones, which are being developed in a separate program.

While little has been made public about the project, budget figures released last year showed the the Air Force plans to spend as much as $20 billion on NGAD research and development through 2029.

For Boeing, winning NGAD is a rebound after losing the F-35 fighter program to Lockheed Martin in 2001. Boeing’s defense business has been hammered by billions of dollars in cost overruns on fixed-price development programs such as the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker and the next-generation Air Force One presidential aircraft.

It’s also a boost for the company as it recovers from a rough 2024, including a major labor strike and regulatory scrutiny after a panel blew out from one of its planes midair.  

In addition to the usual challenges of such a large and complex defense contract, the winner will need to account for Trump’s billionaire cost-cutting adviser Elon Musk, who’s publicly derided the F-35 and questioned the need for manned warplanes given advances in drone technology. 

The new fighter is expected to enter service in the 2030s if everything goes according to plan. While the F-22 boasts stealth capabilities and a supersonic cruise speed, the plane was developed and fielded before the military’s all-in bet on drones as an extension of US power.

Like the F-22, the next-gen jet is intended to be an air-to-air fighter. While the better-known F-35 also has an air-to-air role, it’s additionally relied upon to collect and distribute air and ground target information.