Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Air Force’s ambitious F-47 sixth-generation fighter program, the designated successor to the F-22 Raptor, has hit a major snag: its advanced engines will be delayed by more than two years.
-The Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program, which is developing competing engine designs from GE and Pratt & Whitney, is now not expected to be ready until 2030 due to “supply chain challenges.”
F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: National Security Journal Original Photo.
-This setback, compounded by a recent funding cut, casts a shadow over the timeline for America’s premier next-generation air dominance platform, a key program personally championed by President Trump.
F-47 NGAD Problems
The engines for the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program face a delay of more than two years.
They are not anticipated to be ready before fiscal 2030. That’s according to a report last week from Breaking Defense, which included confirmation from the Air Force.
According to the report, the NGAP program features “dueling engine designs” from GE Aerospace and its RTX subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney. It was initially scheduled to finish in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027 but has now been delayed to the second quarter of 2030.
What’s the problem with the program? Supply chain trouble, the Air Force told the outlet.
“The updated schedule in the budget documents reflects supply chain challenges encountered by the program.”
GE Aerospace told Breaking Defense that the company “is executing the NGAP contract schedule as proposed.”
Pratt & Whitney also commented to Breaking Defense.
“While the U.S. Air Force is best positioned to discuss the overall schedule, we can confirm that Pratt & Whitney is successfully executing the NGAP program, fulfilling our commitments in alignment with their plan. Pratt & Whitney is closely collaborating with our supply chain to enhance delivery by implementing advanced digital design models that will streamline manufacturing and inspection processes.”
A Funding Cut
Meanwhile, the Breaking Defense story added that less money has been requested for the program.
” FY25 budget documents projected the Air Force would invest roughly $439.9 million in the program in FY26; the Trump administration’s budget requests $330.3 million,” the report said.
The Air Force told the outlet that the proposed cuts “reflect the program’s transition from Detailed Design to Prototype fabrication and assembly activities, and programmatic adjustments within the RDT&E [research, development, test and evaluation] portfolio to improve resource efficiency.”
A Boeing Win
In March, the Air Force announced that Boeing had been awarded the contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform.
“I’m thrilled to announce that, at my direction, the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet,” President Donald J. Trump said in March in a White House briefing. “Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be known as the F-47.”
F-22 Raptor Sitting in AF Museum National Security Journal Photo. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis
“In terms of all of the attributes of a fighter jet, there’s never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability, to what it can have, to payload. And this has been in the works for a long period of time,” Trump said at the time. “America’s enemies will never see it coming.”
The Next Arsenal
Meanwhile, on July 4, Fox News published an analysis of what America’s sixth-generation arsenal, including the F-47, will look like.
“With cutting-edge platforms like the B-21 Raider, the F-47 and the Navy’s F/A-XX on the horizon, the Pentagon is reshaping how the U.S. projects airpower for the next 50 years,” the Fox story said. “These aircraft promise unprecedented advances in speed, stealth and autonomy—but they’re also colliding with budget pressures, industrial capacity limits, and an increasingly uncertain global threat environment.”
Fox described the F-47 program this way:
“Once stalled, the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program roared back to life this spring under a new name and a new contract. Now designated the F-47, the program, awarded to Boeing, is designed to be the most advanced manned fighter in U.S. history. Its capabilities will include stealth, extended range, speeds exceeding Mach 2 and integration with a new class of AI-enabled drones called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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Jc
July 24, 2025 at 3:11 am
Nothing you say is true. You just sh t on America.
Jc
July 24, 2025 at 3:12 am
The NGAD has been flying since 2019. Stop lying.