In one of his first acts revitalizing the U.S. military’s warfighting capabilities, President Donald Trump announced on Friday the development of a new 6th generation fighter jet program.
“At my direction, the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first 6th generation fighter jet,” Trump said during a press conference. “Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be known as the F-47.”
The president described the new program as “something, the likes of which, nobody has seen before in all of the attributes of a fighter jet,” and noted that “there’s nothing anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability … to payload.”
“This has been in the works a really long time,” he added.
Trump revealed that the new fighter jets will be developed by Boeing. According to Breaking Defense, this ends Lockheed Martin’s “status as the sole prime contractor producing stealth fighters in the West — namely the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.”
The president declined to specify what the program would cost, citing concerns that doing so could indicate to America’s adversaries the size of the jets and “some of the technology” they’d be using.
Attending Friday’s press conference was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who noted, “This is a big day for our warfighters, a big day for our country, [and] a big day for our world.”
“Mr. President, because of your leadership, your clarity … America is going to have generations in the future of air dominance because of this sixth-generation fighter,” Hegseth said. This program “sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere and to our enemies that we will be able to project power around the globe, unimpeded, for generations to come.”
The president also took time during Friday’s presser to highlight the boost in recruitment numbers the military has experienced since his election in November. With the exception of the Marine Corps, all branches struggled to meet their recruiting targets under Joe Biden’s presidency.
Earlier this year, the Army revealed its December 2024 recruiting totals were the most the branch has seen for that month in 15 years. A similar record was experienced by the Army in January, ABC News reported.
The Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force also appear to be on track to surpass their respective 2025 recruiting targets.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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