The Strange Saga of How the Air Force’s F-47 Fighter Got Its Name

Key Points and Summary – In a surprise Oval Office announcement on March 21, President Donald Trump revealed the US Air Force’s next-generation fighter will be designated the “F-47” and built by Boeing.

-The name breaks with standard military numbering conventions. Internal Air Force emails obtained via a FOIA request suggest officials were caught off guard and scrambled to create a justification after the fact, retroactively linking the “47” to the WWII-era P-47 Thunderbolt.

-This has led to speculation that the designation was a political choice by the 47th president, reflecting a trend of personalization in defense matters over established military protocol.’

The F-47 Fighter Naming Story

In a characteristically theatrical announcement from the Oval Office on March 21, Donald Trump unveiled America’s latest sixth-generation fighter jet as the “F-47”—a name he described as “a beautiful number.”

Standing beside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the former president praised the aircraft’s unmatched speed, payload, and maneuverability, declaring, “Nothing in the world comes even close to it.”

But behind the fanfare, newly released documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suggest the U.S. Air Force was caught flat-footed by the announcement—and may have scrambled to justify a designation that broke with decades of military naming conventions.

The F-47 Fighter Backstory 

According to internal emails released to Bloomberg’s Jason Leopold, top Air Force officials appeared to have no forewarning of Trump’s chosen name.

In fact, correspondence from just hours before the press conference shows General David Allvin, the Air Force Chief of Staff, urgently requesting a historical briefing on the P-47 Thunderbolt—a legendary WWII fighter that seemingly became the retroactive justification for the F-47 name.

A “talking paper” hastily compiled by an Air Force researcher outlined the P-47’s legacy: dubbed “Juggernaut” by airmen, the Thunderbolt was a fearsome ground-attack plane responsible for destroying thousands of enemy vehicles during the final year of WWII. However Trump’s announcement failed to refer to this plane’s storied predecessor.

Could it be that Trump was interested in naming the jet this, because he is currently serving as the U.S.’ 47th president?

The Air Force eventually published a public statement attributing the name to the P-47’s legacy—though only after the press conference, and with notable delay.

Emails show officials scrambling to craft a narrative that aligned with the Defense Department’s established “Mission Design Series” protocol, which governs the naming of aircraft. Traditionally, “F” designates a fighter, followed by a number denoting sequence.

Under that system, a successor to the F-22 would have logically continued numerically—yet the F-47 leaps several generations ahead, bypassing unused designations in the process.

When asked why standard nomenclature was apparently abandoned, Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek had no further explanation beyond: “General Allvin made the decision.”

That answer has raised eyebrows among military watchers and aviation historians alike.

The sequence-busting title, announced unilaterally and justified only after the fact, reflects a broader trend of political personalization creeping into matters of defense strategy.

About the Author:

Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.

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