In the political arena of Washington, honesty often seems as rare as a rare animal. However, recently, Frank Kendall, the outgoing Secretary of the Air Force, bravely broke the silence. He candidly admitted that no matter how cool the capabilities of the next-generation air dominance fighter (NGAD, now called F-47) are and how relevant they may be, America's wallet might have to throw in the towel first. This is not some bold statement about "the sky being the limit," but rather a cold reality that "the budget is the limit."
The story goes back to March 21st when former President Donald Trump announced grandiosely that Boeing would take on the development contract for F-47, vowing to keep the U.S. Air Force dominant in the skies. As the Secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration, Kendall had the opportunity to approve this decision, but he chose to leave it until after the presidential election. Why? Because he knew this decision was far from as simple as choosing dinner. NGAD had to be cool, affordable, and practical. Unfortunately, even by the time he packed his bags and left the Pentagon, these answers remained as elusive as the stealth coating of F-47.
Kendall had sown the seeds for NGAD back in 2015 when he was the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, launching the Aerospace Innovation Initiative (AII) and creating a bunch of "X-plane" prototypes to pave the way for the next-generation fighter. The initiative was a success, directly leading to the door opening for F-47. But when he returned to the Pentagon as the Secretary in 2021, he found out that the Air Force positioned NGAD as the successor to F-22, focusing mainly on "penetrating counter-air" (PCA) missions—going deep behind enemy lines to confront the hardest defenses head-on. It sounds impressive, but at what cost? Billions upon billions in R&D costs, hundreds of millions per aircraft in production costs, and an inventory so small it’s heartbreaking—there are fewer than 200 F-22s, which are already as precious as giant pandas. Who would dare risk them recklessly?
Even more absurdly, no one knows exactly what kind of war the Trump administration wanted to fight. If it was against China or Russia, nuclear superpowers, sending planes into their heavily defended backyards really makes sense? What if Trump's strategy was "defense first"? Wouldn't something low-cost and defensive be better? Or something like F-35, a multi-role aircraft, or better yet, unmanned wingmen for "human-machine collaboration"? Kendall couldn’t help but complain: if F-47 is chosen wrong, the Air Force might end up holding onto this sole new toy for decades, regretting it bitterly.
And let’s not forget the money issue. In the 2024 Air Force budget planning for 2026, the conclusion was straightforward: even if NGAD is great, America can't afford it. Over the next five years, this thing will swallow hundreds of billions of dollars, while the Air Force also needs to repair the nuclear triad and build base defense. The budget is already stretched thin. Before leaving, Kendall left a report for Congress predicting that by 2050, the Air Force will rely heavily on unmanned aircraft, and while F-47 can control unmanned wingmen, it was never designed for that—it’s like using a sports car to haul cargo, no matter how good its performance is, it just feels off.
Congress now has to open its eyes wide and ask the Trump administration some tough questions: Is F-47 really suitable for your strategy? Where does the money come from? Are there more urgent matters being neglected? For instance, China is developing targeting systems in space and stockpiling missiles on the ground, ready to blast U.S. Pacific bases into oblivion. Without urgently developing anti-space weapons and base defenses, the newly bought F-47 might not even make it to the runway and become a "ground-dominant fighter."
So, Kendall laid the truth bare: F-47 looks cool and flies well, but if America can't afford it, it can only dominate the skies in PowerPoint presentations. Congress, sharpen your eyes, don’t let this "air dominance dream" turn into an expensive joke!
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497153507171009043/
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