[By Guancha Observer Network, Liu Chenghui] According to a Reuters report, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on May 15 in Qatar that the United States is considering developing a new dual-engine fighter jet named F-55, which is an advanced upgrade version of the F-35; if the cost is reasonable, it will be developed. He also mentioned that the F-22 fighter jets would be upgraded to create a new aircraft called "Super F-22".

Trump made these remarks at a business leaders' conference held in Doha, where participants included executives from Boeing and General Electric Aviation. The day before, Trump announced a series of commercial deals, including Qatar's order for 160 Boeing commercial aircraft.

Trump said that the F-55 is both an upgraded version of the F-35 fighter jet developed by Lockheed Martin and a newly developed aircraft. He added that the U.S. is also considering upgrading the F-22.

"We will develop the F-55. If the price is right, we must get the right price. This aircraft will have dual engines and will be an advanced upgrade of the F-35. Then we will upgrade the F-22."

He continued: "I believe the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but we are going to create the 'Super F-22', which will be a very modern version of the F-22."

Trump added: "We will take action soon."

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B - Visual China

Earlier, Boeing won the development contract for the sixth-generation fighter F-47 for the U.S. Air Force, which is considered the replacement for the F-22 and is seen as the most advanced sixth-generation fighter in the U.S.

James Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin, told analysts last month that the company is studying how to transfer the technology from the F-47 project to the F-35 to achieve an 80% performance improvement at half the cost.

He told analysts: "Basically, we want to modify the chassis into a Ferrari."

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin responded to Trump: "We thank President Trump for his support of the F-35 and F-22 and will continue to work closely with the government to realize its vision of air superiority."

Defense analyst Francis Tusa pointed out that adding a second engine to the single-engine F-35 is equivalent to creating an entirely new aircraft type.

Currently, Lockheed Martin is conducting delayed software and hardware upgrades for the existing F-35, including enhanced cockpit displays and processing capabilities. Industry observers noted that there are many unanswered questions regarding Trump's proposed development timeline compared to existing project schedules.

Military analysts pointed out that Trump's proposed aircraft plan overlaps with existing projects. Aerospace analyst Nick Cunningham believes that developing the F-55 may aim to replace the aging F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" carrier-based aircraft of the U.S. Navy.

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504945269402780211/

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