On 21st March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump shocked everyone from the Oval Office by declaring the creation of ‘the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet’. Accompanied by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Trump revealed the official name of the jet ‘F-47’ asserting, “Nothing in the world comes even close to it. It’ll be known as the F-47. The generals picked the title. It’s a beautiful number.” Hegseth, meanwhile, praised its ‘speed, manoeuvrability and payload’, saying it would be unlike anything ever seen before.
The F-47 Name Sparks Speculation
The title ‘F-47‘ was unexpected, considering that the plane will be succeeded by the F-22. Some wondered if the plane was given that name as a tribute to Trump himself, the 47th President of the United States. Although there seems to be some basis for this assumption, the whole story seems more complex.
To grasp the reasoning behind military airplane designations, one has to refer to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Mission Design Series created during the 1960s. As per a U.S. Air Force memo acquired by Bloomberg, “This system employs letters and numbers to represent identifying features of military aerospace vehicles of direct concern to the DoD.”
In this system, letters define the aircraft’s purpose ‘B’ for bomber, ‘P’ for patrol, etc. then a dash and a sequential number that denotes its design. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, while this sequence normally goes in order, there are ‘many gaps and numerous exceptions to these sequences’ so F-47 is more likely an exception than a rule-based designation.
Tip of the Hat to History and Trump?
Bloomberg discovered more through a Freedom of Information Act inquiry. Records revealed that the F-47 designation was partially driven by a mythical World War II fighter, the P-47 Thunderbolt which earned a fearsome reputation during the war.
Files revealed that the U.S. Air Force’s Chief of Staff, General David Allvin, had placed an “urgent” order for historical information about the P-47. Within hours, scientists gave a detailed account of the aircraft. The P-47, lovingly called the ‘Juggernaut’ or ‘Jug’, was touted by the Air Force as ‘probably the best ground-attack aircraft fielded by the United States’. In the memo, it stated that between D-Day and VE Day in WWII, Thunderbolt pilots destroyed 86,000 railroad cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armoured cars, and 68,000 trucks.
Thus, though the selection of F-47 might hold some presidential meaning, it equally obviously has its basis in a desire to commemorate a historic warplane.
Was the Air Force Caught Off Guard?
Interestingly enough, when President Trump used the F-47 name in his 11:30 am press conference, both he and Hegseth never made mention of the legacy of the P-47 Thunderbolt. Bloomberg’s report said that the Air Force may not have been ready for public naming.
Emails obtained by the news outlet indicate that after the announcement, a public affairs officer at the Air Force contacted someone in a hurry, typing: “Sir, Request coordination with SECDEF office,” in an email to Lieutenant General Dale White, who is in charge of acquisition and logistics.
But the Air Force insists that the choice to honor the P-47 was done on its own. Asked by journalists, an Air Force spokesman would not comment on the apparent departure from regular naming procedure. “The nomenclature system is in place to have a coherent, not chaotic process of naming systems,” asked one reporter. “Why was it dropped in this instance? And who made that choice?”
The only answer came from Ann Stefanek, the Air Force spokesperson, who issued only this statement, “General Allvin made the decision.” Whether that decision was reached prior or subsequent to Trump’s announcement cannot be known.
Though there is speculation that the F-47 would be named in honor of Trump, official records indicate a dual motive to honor the historical P-47 Thunderbolt and perhaps the 47th president. Less clear is whether the naming was done according to established military procedure or political improvisation.