The contract is worth $60+Billion
Article: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/trump-awards-boeing-much-needed-win-with-fighter-jet-contract-sources-say-2025-03-21/

These going to be flown by AI?

Haven't seen much about Boeing Planes being flown by AI yet. They should have minimal pilot interaction if any, though.

Link?

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/trump-awards-boeing-much-needed-win-with-fighter-jet-contract-sources-say-2025-03-21/

suburban cowboy said:

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liberals will love the name…

F47

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Ooooooo…smart!!! They know what's up to get the contract.

Here's the U.S. Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Fighter doc from the Library of Congress

Presumably tail-less.

Boeing Wins F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Contract

The Air Force next and possibly last manned tactical jet will be built by Boeing.

Story: https://t.co/N5N4jaJAyh

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 21, 2025

I look forward to learning more. F-47 is a weird name to give it already. Just for grins, Boeing is also still 'in' on the competition to provide the Navy a next generation manned platform (F/A-XX).

Lockheed is already out of that (and Northrop Grumman have the B-21) so it is a bit of a surprising paradox that now Lockheed has only the F-35 moving forward for manned stealth combat aircraft. Boeing also hasn't made a fighter of their own (outside of McD heritage, not that there's a reason to dismiss that) in something like 70 years.

I am very surprised, Lockheed has been making fighter jets for the US for a while. I'm not sure what they saw in Boeing to make the 6th-gen jet. Lockheed has extensive experience making the F-22 and the F-35 with the facilities to make them too. Also, Boeing is still in the running for the Navy contract that Lockheed just got taken out of.

Lol, so all the USAF had to do to get #NGAD over the line was to call it the F-47... pic.twitter.com/G4EGbb7TjJ

— Gareth Jennings (@GarethJennings3) March 21, 2025

I laughed.
Interesting;

F-47 #NGAD.

"An experimental version of this plane has been secretly flying for almost five years" ~ President Trump pic.twitter.com/JlnmjifOIh

— AirPower 2.0 (MIL_STD) (@AirPowerNEW1) March 21, 2025

Boeing won NGAD and designation is F-47. Minor observation which is most likely lacking a alot of context is it seems similar to the Boeing concept art which is understandable ( but ofc we don't know actual details and how exactly it evolved from that etc) pic.twitter.com/EpQMXTywCw

— VLO225 (@VLO225) March 21, 2025

Will it have MCAS?

Sounds like it was subjected to a rigorous bidding and evaluation process.

Sid Farkas said:

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Late. Over budget. Obsolete before fully deployed. Military industrial complex gets its nut.

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Oh, you know every private company, politician, and general that are a part of this just creamed themselves.

MIC gonna MIC.

I kind of wish this wasn't awarded so early in the new administration. Certainly most of the details/performance metrics have been put in place by the incompetent bureaucrats running the show over the last several years, I would assume. Hopefully I'm wrong. (I haven't read any details)

What changes were put into the contract vs what they've always done where we get screwed over?

It's crazy that LMT lost this thing. Either Boeing or NGC are going to end up with 2 major major contract awards.

Not really. If Lockheed won, it likely would have further cemented them as the only US fighter manufacturer. Boeing (McD) makes F-15EXs and F-18s but it they didn't win, they likely begin winding this down before any new bids ever come around.

They probably could if the contracting arms got out of the way. One of the biggest causes of delays is honestly requirement creep coming from the feds.

Quote:

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Late. Over budget. Obsolete before fully deployed.

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Was 7th gen technology tested over NJ?

False. They are probably going to win the navy ngad too

flakrat said:

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These going to be flown by AI?

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I believe that the F35s can be remotely flown. At least the functionality is implied. If that is the case, AI could conceivably be linked in or onboarded.

From GROK :
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is primarily designed as a manned fighter jet, flown by a pilot in the cockpit. However, there have been developments and discussions around remotely piloted capabilities for advanced aircraft like the F-35, though this isn't standard operational practice.

As of now, the F-35 does not have an official, widely deployed remote piloting system for combat missions. The aircraft relies heavily on its advanced onboard systems, such as the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and its sensor fusion, which assist the pilot but don't replace them. That said, the U.S. military and other operators have explored unmanned and remotely piloted technologies for various platforms, including fighter jets.
For instance, programs like the U.S. Air Force's Loyal Wingman concept or the development of drones that can pair with manned aircraft (e.g., the XQ-58A Valkyrie) suggest a future where manned jets like the F-35 could potentially be adapted for remote operation or work alongside unmanned systems. Lockheed Martin has also demonstrated technologies like the "Have Raider" program, where F-35s can control drones, hinting at the possibility of remote capabilities being integrated over time.
In short, while F-35s aren't currently flown remotely in standard operations, the technological foundation exists, and future upgrades or experimental variants could make it feasible. No public, definitive evidence shows operational F-35s being flown remotely as of March 21, 2025, but military tech evolves fast, often behind closed doors.


On AI control: "Hasn't AI defeated some of the best human pilots in fighter jet simulation? Given that conceptually the f35 can be flown remotely, could AI conceivably pilot f35's either remotely or even from an onboard computer?"

Yes, AI has indeed outperformed human pilots in fighter jet simulations, and that's a strong indicator of its potential to pilot something like the F-35, either remotely or onboard. Let's break this down.

In 2020, DARPA's AlphaDogfight Trials showcased an AI system developed by Heron Systems that decisively beat a highly experienced human F-16 pilot in simulated dogfights. The AI won 5-0, leveraging perfect reaction times, relentless precision, and strategies that exploited its computational edgelike maintaining optimal angles humans couldn't sustain. This wasn't a one-off; earlier programs like the Air Force's ACE (Air Combat Evolution) initiative have been pushing AI toward real-world air combat applications. Fast forward to 2024, and the X-62A VISTA testbedan AI-piloted aircraftflew autonomously in mock combat scenarios, proving AI can handle dynamic flight conditions beyond just simulations.
Conceptually, the F-35 could be flown remotely, as I mentioned earlier. Its fly-by-wire system, advanced sensors, and datalinks (like the Multifunction Advanced Data Link, MADL) already allow it to process and share vast amounts of real-time info. Adapting it for remote operation would require secure, low-latency communication channels and some hardware tweakschallenges, sure, but not insurmountable given today's tech. The bigger leap would be trusting AI to run the show, either from a ground station or an onboard computer.
AI piloting an F-35 remotely is plausible with existing infrastructure. You'd pipe sensor data to a remote AI system, which could process it faster than any human and send back flight commands. The bottleneck would be bandwidth and cybersecuritylag or hacking could be catastrophic. Onboard AI is even more promising: the F-35's computers could host an AI pilot directly, cutting out latency entirely. Its onboard systems already handle complex tasks like sensor fusion and threat prioritization; an AI could take that further, optimizing maneuvers and weapons deployment in ways humans can't match. Programs like Lockheed's own AI-driven drone control experiments suggest this isn't sci-fiit's on the horizon.
The real question is integration and trust. Militaries move cautiously with fully autonomous lethal systemsthink ethics, accountability, and the "human in the loop" debate. But could AI pilot an F-35? Absolutely. It's already outflown humans in sims, and the F-35's architecture could support it. Whether it's remote or onboard, we're talking engineering and policy hurdles, not conceptual ones. Given the pace of AI and robotics, I'd bet we'll see it tested in the next decademaybe even sooner if someone's already quietly flying prototypes.

HoustonAg9999 said:

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Hopefully they have the correct "software update"

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Hopefully the gun will work and not require "new software" because, lead computing gun sights have been a thing since WW2 but we need to rewrite everything to justify our excessive overruns.

Stymied said:

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They probably could if the contracting arms got out of the way. One of the biggest causes of delays is honestly requirement creep coming from the feds.

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Boeing is such a bureaucratic nightmare that it fits in nicely with how the US Govt works....

The amount of money they have gotten from the feds is staggering....

In the future, all fighter jets will be flown remotely by autistic video game addicts from their moms' basements.

Didn't realize LMT was already out of NGAD. Perhaps Boeing wins that one too. If they do, it will be similar to when LMT won the F-22 followed quickly by the JSF / F-35.

Agree, this does put LMT into a bit of a difficult spot but it's not unlike what McD was in about 15-20 years ago.

I think you can say the same thing about any major government contractor. Not going to defend Boeing but there are very few major defense platforms that didn't come with a ton of delays.

HoustonAg9999 said:

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Hopefully they have the correct "software update"

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I wonder how many Indians will be writing the programming for this. I can only imagine how bad it's going to be. They will certainly find ways to violate ITAR I am sure.