The US Air Force aims to launch the F-47, which is being promoted as a sixth-generation fighter jet, to be able to operate at much longer ranges than previous-generation jets. A graphic shared by Air Force Commander Gen. Dave Allvin on Tuesday via X (formerly Twitter) offers important clues about the F-47’s potential capabilities. According to the graphic, the F-47 will have a combat radius of over 1.000 nautical miles, advanced stealth technologies and will be able to reach a top speed of over Mach 2 (more than 1.500 miles per hour).
Another noteworthy point in General Allvin’s post was that the first generation of semi-autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles, called “collaborative combat aircraft” (CCA), will also have impressive range features. Accordingly, the first generation CCAs will have a combat radius of over 700 nautical miles and a level of stealth similar to that of the F-35. Combat radius is a critical parameter that indicates how far an aircraft can travel from its home base or final refueling point, complete its mission and return safely, and is usually equivalent to about half of the aircraft’s total range.
If these ambitious estimates come to fruition, the F-47 would have a much greater operational range than the current fifth-generation fighters in service, the F-590 Raptor, with a combat radius of 22 nautical miles, and the F-670A, with a combat radius of 35 nautical miles. It would also be significantly faster than the F-1.6A, with a top speed of Mach 1.200 (about 35 mph).
This significant range advantage could provide a strategic advantage for the U.S. Air Force, particularly in a potential conflict scenario with China. A potential war in the Pacific would require Air Force aircraft to traverse vast ocean areas to reach their targets. Such an operation would take place in contested airspace where aerial refueling might be unfeasible or risky. Air Force leaders and aviation experts have also expressed concerns in the past about whether the current fleet of aircraft would have sufficient range to reach Chinese targets on their own.
The Air Force has made a significant change to its initial plans to increase the range of the first-generation CCAs. In a July 2024 interview with Defense News, former Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter explained that operators from Air Combat Command were assigned to consult with acquisition experts on what kind of missions the CCAs should perform operationally. Hunter said that these experienced operators noted the lack of range in the initial plans for the CCAs, which could prevent the CCAs from flying far enough to be effective in combat. It was emphasized that this range issue would be a critical issue, especially in large geographies such as the Pacific. At the time, Hunter refrained from disclosing the exact range values of the CCAs, stating that the Air Force was pushing contractors to find “an optimal balance point” that would provide sufficient range to meet operational requirements within a reasonable cost and timeline. The companies that will develop the first two CCA prototypes were determined as General Atomics (YFQ-42A) and Anduril Industries (YFQ-44A). In General Allvin's post, it was stated that the maximum speeds of these CCAs were kept secret.
General Allvin’s post also included information that the Air Force hopes to have both the F-47 fighter jet and first-generation CCAs operational by the end of the next decade. The Air Force is reportedly planning to purchase at least 185 F-47 fighter jets (this figure is equal to the minimum purchase of the F-47 Raptor, which is expected to replace the F-22), while the aim is to acquire more than 1.000 CCAs. This large-scale procurement plan shows how much importance the Air Force places on both sixth-generation fighter jets and autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles in its future air combat concept.
Last year, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall suspended the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program due to concerns about high costs. Initial estimates were that each NGAD fighter jet would cost about three times the cost of an F-35, or $300 million per aircraft. Secretary Kendall said last summer that these high costs would severely limit the number of NGAD fighter jets the Air Force could purchase, prompting the Air Force to reexamine the program and look for ways to reduce costs. How the F-47 program will be affected by these cost pressures and how it will synergize with the NGAD program remains a matter of curiosity.
