US President Donald Trump's comments in Qatar on Thursday about future fighter jets planned for the US military caused great consternation in the military aviation world and were met with silence from the Pentagon. Trump, at a roundtable meeting in Doha attended by the heads of Boeing and GE Aerospace, said that a new twin-engine model is being worked on to replace the current F-35. “F-55” He attracted attention by saying that he gave his name.
“F-55” and “F-22 Super”: Reality or Speculation?
While Trump stated in his statements that the F-35 was undergoing a “simple upgrade,” he also claimed that an “F-55” was being worked on, which he said would be a “significant upgrade” and “will have two engines.” The second reason to use the “F-22 Super” He added that a modernized version of the F-22, which he named "F-XNUMX", is also being developed.
Frank Kendall, who served as Secretary of the Air Force during former President Joe Biden's administration, told Defense News that it was unclear what Trump meant by the "F-22 Super," but added that it was from the sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet He said he might be talking about it. The F-47, previously referred to as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), is designed to replace the Air Force's fleet of approximately 185 F-22 Raptors. The Air Force has been working on NGADs for years and awarded Boeing the contract to build them in March.
But no additional details were provided about Trump’s “F-55” comments, and the U.S. government did not further explain what Trump meant. The Air Force and Navy referred questions about Trump’s comments to the White House, which referred them to another spokesman who did not immediately respond.
Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 and F-22, did not directly respond to Trump’s comments. The company released a general statement saying, “We thank President Trump for his support of the F-35 and F-22, and we will continue to work closely with the administration to realize his vision of air dominance.”
Frank Kendall also reiterated that it was unclear what Trump was referring to when he mentioned the alleged F-55. Kendall commented, “President Trump seems to be speculating loudly about future aircraft that, as far as I know, do not exist.” Aviation expert Richard Aboulafia suggested that Trump may be “trolling” the public with his F-55 fighter jet proposal. When asked if Trump had thought of anything that would fit his F-55 reference, Aboulafia replied, “Other than the Revell model kits from a couple of decades ago? No.” It is also unclear whether Trump’s F-55 comments were a reference to that, as the Navy is known to be working on its own sixth-generation fighter jet, dubbed the F/A-XX.
Single Engine Design Criticism and Privacy Debate
Trump also criticized the F-35's single-engine design, stating that the plane could be at risk if one engine fails. “An F-35 has one engine; I don’t like one engine,” Trump said, before pointing to GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp, who added, “Even this guy, he’s the best in the world when it comes to engines. But sometimes, I know you won’t admit it, if one engine goes out, it’s good to have two, three or four. That’s why I like the 747, it’s good to have four.”
Kendall said the Air Force currently flies about 830 single-engine F-16s and 471 F-35As, while the twin-engine jets include 185 F-22s and more than 250 F-15s. “The vast majority of our fighter fleet is single-engine aircraft and has been forever,” Kendall said, countering Trump’s criticism by saying, “Those engines are extremely reliable.”
Under the F-35 program, Lockheed Martin and engine maker Pratt & Whitney are working on several improvements to the Joint Strike Fighter that Trump referred to as “simple upgrades.” Block 4 The series of upgrades, called the Block 35 capabilities, aim to improve the F-35’s sensors, target recognition and electronic warfare capabilities, and allow it to carry more weapons. Lockheed Martin has announced plans to begin delivering some early Block 4 capabilities to the F-XNUMX this summer. Pratt & Whitney is also working to modernize the F-35's existing engines with a major upgrade aimed at providing more power, thrust and cooling capability.
Lockheed Martin executives said on an April earnings call that they hope to adapt some sixth-generation technologies developed as part of the NGAD proposals to the F-35 and F-22. Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said this would create a “supercharged,” “fifth-generation plus” jet and would be akin to turning the F-35 into a “Ferrari.” This could enable the F-35 to deliver many of the capabilities of an NGAD jet at half the cost, Taiclet added.
The intentions behind Trump’s comments about upgrading the F-35 and F-55 and favoring twin-engine jets remain unclear. But Aboulafia said that if Trump advocates modifying the F-35 to be twin-engine, it would be nearly impossible short of a major reengineering of the entire jet. To do so, he noted, Lockheed Martin would have to “rip the entire middle of an F-35 apart, [and] replace it with a completely different middle,” and likely require new wings. “It might be the worst idea ever, but theoretically, it’s absolutely [doable]. It would just be a new airplane,” Aboulafia commented.
Trump also criticized the aesthetics that come with low-observability designs, arguing that the stealth capabilities of military aircraft are quickly broken and rendered obsolete by potential adversaries. “Sometimes, you know, stealth, they do stealth,” Trump said. “I’m not a big believer in stealth, because stealth is fundamentally, largely design and form. … You’ll design an ugly aircraft for stealth reasons. And then six months later, they’ll figure it out and then you’re left with an aircraft.”
The statement is a departure from Trump’s repeated praise of the F-35’s stealth capabilities during his first administration. “You can’t see it,” Trump said in 2017. “You literally can’t see it. It’s hard to fight an aircraft you can’t see.”
Senior Air Force leaders have not indicated any desire to move away from stealth capabilities. On the contrary, the service has emphasized that future fighter jets must be as undetectable as possible to survive a potential conflict with China, which is the closest in military capability to the United States. Projects such as the upcoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber and the F-47 are designed with advanced stealth capabilities, and their drone wingmen, known as cooperative fighter jets, will also use stealth. The Air Force has even considered adding stealth capabilities to its next-generation refueling tanker, but budget concerns have cast doubt on those plans. The fact that the fifth-generation F-22 is also a stealth fighter jet does not seem to have dampened Trump’s excitement about the aircraft. Trump has expressed admiration for the F-22, saying, “I think the F-22 is the most beautiful fighter jet in the world.”
A Commander-in-Chief's Speculations or a Vision of the Future?
Donald Trump’s comments in Qatar have created great uncertainty in the US military aviation sector. His reference to an unconfirmed aircraft such as the “F-55” and his new stance on stealth that contradicts current defense strategies have created confusion among both the Pentagon and industry experts. The question of whether these statements are a strategic announcement reflecting a president’s vision of the future or speculative comments aimed at attracting attention remains unanswered. What is certain, however, is that such claims will continue to occupy the global defense industry agenda.
