Is The F-47 Going To Be The Stealthiest Aircraft Ever?: The US Air Force is moving forward with the F-47 aircraft, also known as the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, for its next-generation air superiority fighter.
What Makes the F-47 So Great
Reports are suggesting that the F-47 will be the fastest fighter ever.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump, in his introductory press conference for the F-47, stated that the aircraft will fly at Mach 2.
President Trump said, “Its speed is top, so ‘over two,’ which is something that you don’t hear very often.”
“It’s something the likes of which nobody has seen before,” Trump said. “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. The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built.”
Further reports claim that the speed of the F-47 will exceed Mach 2.25, or approximately 1726.35 mph. That is incredible for a stealth aircraft. But how can the F-47 maintain its stealth coatings at that speed?
Stealth Coatings Don’t Do Well At High Speeds
Claims are being made on various social media platforms that the F-47 will be “the stealthiest aircraft ever,” a claim that has yet to be proven, but it sets a high bar.
Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David W. Allvin said at the press conference, the F-47 will cost less than the F-22, be more adaptable to future threats, and “have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters.”
Stealth coating materials can deteriorate due to both speed and temperature. High speeds, especially supersonic flight, generate significant heat, which can damage or degrade the radar-absorbing materials (RAMs) used in stealth technology. Additionally, the materials are susceptible to damage from abrasion, moisture, and other environmental factors.
Many radar-absorbent polymers used in stealth coatings rapidly decompose at temperatures above 250°C. This necessitates careful design considerations to manage heat and protect the coatings.
Changes Coming For Stealth Polymers
Scientists at NC State have been working on creating a tougher skin that also has more desirable stealth characteristics. Researchers believe that the new material will enable the aircraft to fly at higher speeds while maintaining its stealth capabilities.
Chengying “Cheryl” Xu, who is leading the program at NC State, said that, “the material we’ve engineered is not only more radar absorbent, it will also allow the next generation of stealth aircraft to be faster, more maneuverable and able to travel further.”
Xu and her team have created a ceramic material that has an impressive array of stealth attributes. During lab testing, it was found that the ceramic is more radar-absorbent than existing polymers, able to absorb 90% or more of the energy from radar.
The ceramic material is water-resistant and harder than sand. In other words, it can better withstand harsh conditions, such as flying in desert-like environments or in the rain. More importantly, the ceramic material retains its radar-absorbent characteristics at temperatures as high as 1,800 °C and as low as -100 °C.
The ceramic coating can be applied easily to the entire skin of the aircraft. The entire process, from applying a liquid ceramic precursor to completion, takes one to two days, Xu said.
The liquid ceramic precursor is sprayed onto the aircraft’s surface. As the liquid precursor is exposed to ambient air, it undergoes a series of chemical reactions and is converted into the solid ceramic material.
“We recently secured funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research that will allow us to produce and test much larger samples, so that’s what we’re working on now,” Xu said. “Ultimately, we are hoping to work with industry partners to scale this up and begin work on the next generation of stealth aircraft.”
Can the F-47 Use This New Tech?
It is not known if the F-47 will use the ceramic coating that researchers at NC State are developing, but the Air Force is working on a new stealth coating for the aircraft. The F-47 will also incorporate active stealth technologies, such as electronic countermeasures and decoys, to confuse and evade enemy defenses.
The F-47 promises to take stealth to the next level. We’ll have to wait and see how this all shakes out.
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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