Clips of Donald Trump detailing plans for future fighter jets took off among social media users over the weekend as they ridiculed the president over the aircraft’s name: “F-47.”
“The generals picked the title and it’s a beautiful number, F-47,” the 47th president said in a clip shared by NBC Bay Area that went viral on TikTok. Trump then claimed the fighter jet possessed attributes “the likes of which nobody has seen before.”
On Friday, Trump announced from the Oval Office that he awarded Boeing with a $20 billion military contract to build the next generation of fighter jets for the U.S. Air Force. The contract marks a major win for Boeing, whose stock rose approximately 5% following the announcement, while competitor Lockheed Martin saw shares drop nearly 7%.
The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program aircraft, now designated as the F-47, will replace the F-22 Raptor as America’s premier fighter jet. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin joined Trump for the announcement, where the president described the jet as “virtually unseeable” with “unprecedented power.”
According to Air Force officials, the F-47 will have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth capabilities, and be more easily supported than the F-22. The aircraft is designed to operate alongside unmanned drone swarms to increase combat effectiveness.
“Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats – and we will have more of the F-47s in our inventory,” said Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General David Allvin.
The announcement arrives months after the current Lockheed Martin F-35 jets have faced criticism—including from billionaire Elon Musk—as the program is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $2 trillion “over several decades,” according to the Government Accountability Office. Musk has expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of crewed high-end fighters, preferring cheaper drone technology instead.
The F-47 name appears to reference Trump’s status as the 47th president, though Trump insisted during the announcement that “the generals picked a title.” The number also honors the legacy of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter from World War II and the founding year of the Air Force, according to Pentagon sources.
Social media users quickly seized on the name, mocking Trump for apparently not acknowledging how the “F” combined with “47” could be perceived. The jokes spread rapidly across platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram over the weekend.
The win marks a significant reversal of fortune for Boeing, which has struggled with both commercial and defense setbacks in recent years. The company has faced ongoing safety concerns after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, a door plug blowout on a plane in 2024, and other high-profile incidents.
Trump himself criticized Boeing as recently as last month when he slammed the company for delays in delivering new Air Force One jets. “We are getting a new Air Force One, if Boeing could ever finish the damn thing,” Trump said in February.
The F-47 will be built at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Few details about the aircraft’s design have been made public, though Trump claimed an experimental version has been “secretly flying” for nearly five years.
Pentagon officials describe the jet as the cornerstone of a “family of systems” approach that includes collaborative combat aircraft and cutting-edge sensors. The Air Force expects to spend $20 billion on the NGAD program between 2025 and 2029, with the first flight planned by early 2029.
Trump also suggested potential international sales, saying “Our allies are calling constantly. They want to buy them also,” though no specific details on foreign military sales were provided.
The F-47 announcement represents a continuation of the Trump administration’s focus on maintaining U.S. military dominance amid increasing competition from China and Russia in advanced weapons development.
