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DONALD Trump has announced his plans for a futuristic fighter jet that is set to be the deadliest in history.
The US commander-in-chief has named the historic aircrafts after himself and revealed some of the key components of the air force’s new fleet.
Trump met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office on Friday to announce the project.
The F-47, named in a nod to himself and his second term, is a sixth-generation manned fighter jet.
These aircraft will fly with their own drone swarms.
Program coordinators plan to use sophisticated robotic wingmen designed by Anduril Industries and General Atomics in the drones, according to Axios.
Trump has not confirmed how much the huge project will cost the US.
A source close to the Next Generation Air Dominance said the program was given upwards of $20 billion.
Trump gave the project a huge payout to ensure America’s air defenses can destroy those used by China and other potential foes.
Trump hailed these jets as “the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built”.
He added: “The F-47 is equipped with state-of-the-art stealth technologies, virtually unseeable and unprecedented power,” and called the title a “beautiful name.”
The President also praised the F-47 as “There’s never been anything like it”.
The president insisted that generals devised the name, which is a nod to his term as the 47th president.
The contract for the deadly new military aircraft was awarded to the struggling American company Boeing and they are set to replace Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor.
Shares of Boeing were up 5% after the news and Lockheed’s shares fell nearly 6%.
This has marked a good change of fortune for the company both on its commercial and defense sides.
Boeing will eventually receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders over the contract’s multi-decade lifetime.
Trump revealed the jets would be built in the next “couple of years” and revealed that production is already underway.
He claimed the plane has “secretly been flying for almost five years,” and will rule the skies with “many drones, as many as we want.”
Trump added: “Our allies are calling constantly, they want to buy them all”.
Hegseth said the F-47 project would establish “the next generation of air dominance”.
List of fighter jets used by the Air Force
THE US Air Force uses four different F-series fighter jets.
Here is an inside look at the top-tier weapons.
- F-15 Eagle – This is an extremely maneuverable fighter built to operate in all weather conditions. According to the Air Force, the Eagle can, “penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outright any current enemy aircraft.”
- F-16 Fighting Falcon – This craft is more compact and can have several roles in the Air Force. It’s quick and excels in air-to-air combat. The Falcon, “provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.”
- F-22 Raptor – The Raptor is the pinnacle of US air combat excellence. This model takes a more operational role in the skies with stealth capabilities that are ideal for recon missions. The jet assists multiple military branches and “cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.”
- F-35A Lightning II – This model is an upgraded version of the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt II’s. The jets, “bring with it an enhanced capability to survive in the advanced threat environment in which it was designed to operate.”
