President Donald Trump on Friday announced that Boeing would build the next generation of fighter plane, which will be called the F-47 in his honour.
Mr Trump, who is the 47th president, said the fighter would be capable of flying alongside a swarm of drones.
“At my direction, the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world's first sixth-generation fighter jet,” Mr Trump said. “Nothing in the world that was even close to it, and it'll be known as the F-47. The generals picked a title, and it's a beautiful number,” he said.
Speaking in the White House alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and USAF Chief of Staff Gen David Allvin, Mr Trump said the F-47 would be the “most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built”.
“America's enemies will never see it coming. Hopefully we won't have to use it for that purpose, but you have to have it, and if it ever happens, they won't know what the hell hit them,” he said.
Experimental versions of the planes have secretly been flying for almost five years, he added, noting that he could not reveal the price of the contract due to security reasons. He said the government had ordered “a lot” of the new aircraft.
The Next Generation Air Dominance programme will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones. The plane's design remains a closely held secret, but will likely include stealth, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge engines that can maintain supersonic flight without afterburners.
“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,” Gen Allvin said.
For Boeing, the win marks a reversal of fortune for a company that has struggled on both the commercial and defence sides of its business. Boeing stock was up by more than 4 per cent on the news, while aerospace rival Lockheed Martin was nosedived more than 6 per cent.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2018 that the new airframe could cost up to $300 million apiece – significantly more than various other aircraft currently in the US inventory.
Mr Hegseth said it was “a big day for our warfighters. This is a big day for our country, a big day for the world.”
The most sophisticated fighter the US Air Force currently has is the F-35 stealth jet, made by Lockheed Martin, which with a lifetime cost projected to exceed $2 trillion is the most expensive plane yet built.
The announcement came after Mr Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk held a lengthy meeting with Mr Hegseth at the Pentagon.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Mr Musk, who has the job of making sweeping cuts to the federal spending, would be briefed on secret plans for possible war with China. Mr Musk and Mr Trump both denied the report and said the Tesla boss's visit to the Pentagon was related to his work with Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency organisation.
“We don't want to have a potential war with China, but I can tell you, if we did, we're very well equipped to handle it,” Mr Trump said, adding that Mr Musk would oppose war with China because he has businesses there.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
