Boeing Wins Bid for Futuristic U.S. Fighter Jet With Eye on China

Boeing Co. won a contract to design and build the U.S.’s next-generation stealth fighter jet, beating out rival Lockheed Martin Corp. for the multi-billion-dollar program aimed at preparing the military for possible conflict with China.

The new sixth-generation fighter jet, whose overall cost is expected to run in the hundreds of billions of dollars, “will ensure that the U.S.A continues to dominate the skies,” President Donald Trump said in an unveiling at the White House. Trump, the 47th president, said with a smile that it will be dubbed the F-47.

The award caps more than two years of competition between the defense giants 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.

An artist’s rendering of the plane placed next to Trump in the Oval Office showed a sharp-nosed craft with tinted cockpit glass beneath an American flag. Its tail was obscured in shadow, reflecting how the plane’s development is still incomplete.

While little has been made public about the project, budget figures released last year showed that the Air Force plans to spend as much as $20 billion on NGAD research and development through 2029. Overall costs will be many times that if the most recent stealth jet, Lockheed’s F-35, is any guide. That jet is expected to cost U.S. taxpayers almost $2 trillion by the end of its lifespan.

“The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built,” Trump said. The U.S. plans to sell the jets to “certain allies,” though “perhaps toned-down versions,” he said.

Boeing shares rose as much as 6.2% after the announcement March 21, while Lockheed erased earlier gains to