These days, the American F-47 has been a hot topic on the internet, and Trump has even blown it up to the sky. However, this mysterious sixth-generation fighter that has taken off has had its "secret diary" spilled by former Secretary of the Air Force Kendall and his old partner, former procurement heavyweight Andrew Hunter, in the podcast of "Defense and Aerospace Report." The development process of this legendary super fighter can be described as a carnival of technology and money, and now those "secrets that cannot be spoken" have finally been brought to the table - paired with popcorn, it smells quite good! And these words are equivalent to bursting Trump's big talk about the F-47.

The story goes back to around 2015. At that time, Kendall was still the second-in-command of the Department of Defense's procurement office, and he came up with an aerospace innovation plan, calling in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as the "director," with the Air Force and Navy as the "supporting actors," with a budget of $1 billion, aiming to create a flyable "sixth-generation dream." What happened? They first produced a few "technical demonstration aircraft" - sounds like sci-fi movie prototypes, right? These guys took to the skies in 2019 and 2022 respectively, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin bickering over them. Kendall proudly said: "We just want to do something adventurous and see if we can make some big news!"

Hunter chimed in: "The mission of these X planes is to prove that the sixth-generation fighter must have style - long range, strong capabilities, and a bit of mystery!"

The "official identity" of the F-47 was determined during the Trump administration, handled by a mysterious organization called the "Advanced Aviation Program Execution Office," which later became the overall command center for the NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) program. Initially, the Air Force wanted the F-47 to take over from the F-22 Raptor, specializing in rough work like forcefully entering enemy airspace. But plans changed halfway through, and the F-47 was given a new task - to serve as a "command aircraft," commanding a group of loyal wingmen to fight together. Kendall happily said: "This thing is basically a distant relative of the F-22, but smarter and more agile!"

Hunter also boasted about the F-47's "social skills": thanks to the universal system architecture, it can "seamlessly connect" with other aircraft, integrating sensors from naval F/A-XX into the network.

However, don't get too excited yet. Last year, Kendall waved his hand and hit the pause button on the NGAD program. Why? He counted three reasons on his fingers: first, there isn't enough money! The research and development will burn another $20 billion, and the Air Force's pockets are emptier than their faces. Second, the loyal wingmen are stealing the spotlight, making the F-47 feel "positionally awkward." Third, spending so much money on such a big toy might crowd out the resources for other projects, like anti-satellite missiles or giving bases some "bulletproof vests."

Kendall said seriously: "China has hundreds of satellites watching us, and there are missile rains waiting to greet us. If the base gets flattened, the F-47 would only be able to strike a pose on the tarmac!" He also complained that Patriot and THAAD are too expensive, and they need something cheaper to replace them. It seems that the former minister really wants to squeeze every penny out of the Air Force budget.

The birth of the F-47 was also a "selection battle." Boeing and Lockheed Martin pulled out all the stops, presenting designs that were praised by Kendall as "radical and creative." In the end, Boeing won the top prize, possibly because they were more eager to prove themselves - after all, Lockheed Martin had the F-35 to rely on, living a comfortable life. Kendall frankly said: "Boeing has more power; they need this to turn things around!" As for Northrop Grumman? They dropped out in 2023, probably because they thought this game was too brain-burning.

The cost? The unit price of the F-47 is expected to be between $160 million and $180 million, more than double the cost of the F-35. Kendall also admitted: "The export prospects of the F-47 are slim; who would buy such an expensive 'castrated version'?" It seems that this treasure is reserved for the United States itself.

So, don't think the F-47 is the ultimate trump card for the U.S. Air Force. Kendall poured cold water on it: "It's not a panacea; loyal wingmen and F-35 still need to keep upgrading." It seems that Americans themselves are also baffled by the future development prospects of the F-47. Just coincidentally, the 47th U.S. President wanted to call the "NGAD" the F-47, and the pressure of China's two sixth-generation aircraft test flights made Boeing get the contract. But can Boeing handle the sixth-generation fighters? This is truly the main drama, after all, there are too many big jokes about Boeing's civilian and military aircraft projects. You can expect that America's future aviation industry may be ruined by Boeing.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493427493651661323/

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