Last March, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin lost the competition for the contract to develop the sixth generation fighters for the United States, in front of Boeing and his future F-47. Jim TaiotCEO of Lockheed Martin, then said that it would update the F-35 Lightning II with sixth generation technologies to convert it into A ‘Ferrari’ between combat planes Already a minor cost than the F-47 will have. Now they have transcended new details about the update of the F-35 Lightning II and among them it emphasizes that they could not require pilot in all operations, since the company Plan that they are optionally manned.
Taiot has pointed out on Wednesday, according to Defense One, that the improvements will include improved furtive coatings, redesign of the engine nozzles, modifications in the outer line of the fuselage, new electronic warfare capabilities and autonomy that can be ‘Make the F-35 pilot optional in a relatively modest period of time, based on much of the development we have made for our NGAD offer’. Ngad are the acronym in English of the program Next generation aerial domain with which Boeing was made in front of Lookheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin CEO CREE that ‘in two or three years we could achieve a significant improvement in the F-35 moving some of these technologies’. Currently, F-35 Lightning II already has autonomous functions, as demonstrated in 2023when a unit continued flying 11 minutes after the pilot’s ejection.
Taiot first raised the idea of A ‘supercargado’ version of F-35 Lightning II during the presentation of results of the first 2025 quarter of the company. He affirmed that the F-35 program team can Offer 80 % of sixth generation capabilities in the middle of the cost.
Lockheed Martin argues that F-35 Lightning II is essential to guarantee air superiority and the success of missions in all domains. The company describes it as The most lethal, resilient and connected combat planecapable of integrating air, land, naval, spatial and cybernetic operations.
The current F-35 Lightning II against future F-47
The comparison is not simple, since the confirmed details of the F-47 are very scarce, although the NGAD requirements allow some to advance. Lightning II F-35 Lightning II represents The current Fifth Generation Paradigm: combines furtive abilities, advanced sensors, data fusion and great operational versatility. Designed as a multirol plane, it is capable to execute aerial superiority missions, land attack, electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and recognition. Its monomotor design, its radar absorbent coating and its sensor architecture make it an extremely effective platform. However, Its autonomous functions are limited and continues to require crew.
The F-47 is projected as a sixth generation hunting that seeks Absolute aerial domain in highly disputed environments. It is not just a plane, but the core of An interconnected combat system. Unlike current F-35, F-47 is expected to have the capacity to Operate without pilot on board, either autonomously or together with combat drones. In addition, it will incorporate more advanced furtive coatings, an exterior aerodynamic redesign to further reduce its signature and an adaptive engine that will allow you Supercrucero. Its scope, confirmed by the United States Air Force, will be at least 1,000 nautical miles, 1,850 kilometers.
As soon as Electronic War and Sensorsthe F-47 is expected to exceed F-35, integrating artificial intelligence for real -time data processing and a Network connectivity even more sophisticated. If the F-35 is the ‘field marshal’ of the current battle space, the F-47 aims to be the brain of an autonomous and collaborative air ecosystem. Although its cost and deadlines are still uncertain (Boeing hopes to make the first inaugural flight during the mandate of Donald Trump), the F-47 promises an operational revolution against the incremental evolution of F-35. To what extent the fifth generation ‘plus’ of the F-35 will be able to shorten, it remains to be seen.