US says F-47 will be first sixth-gen jet. China’s J-36 and J-50 are already flying
Por Gabriel Dominguez — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement US-China relations China Military US says F-47 will be first sixth-gen jet. China’s J-36 and J-50 are already flying
As competition intensifies with the PLA over future air power, American officer says the aircraft will fly during Trump’s term
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Gabriel Dominguez Published: 8:30pm, 1 Oct 2026 Washington is “not too far away” from a production line for its F-47 sixth-generation fighter , a senior US Air Force official has said, as China presses ahead with flight-testing two different next-generation combat aircraft of its own. During a virtual event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on Monday, Brigadier General Timothy Helfrich, the service’s portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft, said the F-47 would be “the world’s first sixth-generation fighter”.
He said the aircraft was on track to fly before US President Donald Trump’s term ended in January 2029. Its first flight is targeted for 2028.
Meanwhile, China’s two tailless next-generation fighters, commonly known as the J-36 and J-50 , have been observed on test flights since December 2024. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
