Lockheed Wants to Build a “Super F-35” to Compete with Boeing’s F-47

Topic: AircraftBlog Brand: The BuzzRegion: AmericasTags: F-35 Lightning II, F-47, Lockheed Martin, NGAD, and Super F-35Lockheed Wants to Build a “Super F-35” to Compete with Boeing’s F-47 April 29, 2025By: Brandon J. WeichertShareShare this link on FacebookShare this page on X (Twitter)Share this link on LinkedInEmail a link to this pageThe creation of a fifth-generation-plus warplane is much preferable to the more than $300 million-per-plane F-47. But there is little guarantee that Lockheed Martin can keep costs down.

Today, America’s national debt approaches $37 trillion, more than 100 percent of the size of the overall economy ($30 trillion in GDP terms). Against this, one might be forgiven for thinking that the U.S.



government would want to downsize its spending. Instead, though, the federal government is running explosive, chronic deficits—spending far more than it takes in from taxes every year.One of the largest sources of this deficit is America’s gargantuan military budget.

Though the Trump administration and its “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) vowed to eliminate wasteful spending, it has so far ignored the Pentagon altogether. Indeed, the Trump administration’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, tweeted recently his pride at the fact that the country would have a $1 trillion defense budget as early as next year.What Can $1 Trillion Buy for the Pentagon?And just what would this $1 trillion defense budget get? The promise is vague.

Supposedly, it would rebuild our lost naval capacity. That money would go toward restoring our diminishing weapons and ammunition stockpiles after 20 years of inconclusive Middle East wars and a seemingly endless quagmire in Ukraine. We are led to believe that the possible $1 trillion defense budget for next fiscal year would fund the restoration of the Pentagon’s air war capabilities.

All this sounds great on paper. But the reality is far more complex.Not only are there real problems with paying for legacy programs that have little bearing any longer on the modern strategic landscape, but the reality is that the country’s defense industrial base simply cannot meet current demand—let alone increased demand anytime soon.

And no amount of wishful thinking or periodic injections of tax dollars will change that reality.A $1 trillion defense budget likely just means that America’s grotesquely inefficient major defense contractors can squeeze a few more tax dollars out of Uncle Sam—all while failing to deliver that which they promised in a timely manner, or at a rate that they have agreed to. Simply throwing more money at this problem will likely not solve it.

Recently, President Donald J. Trump stunned the world with his announcement of America’s sixth-generation warplane, the so-called F-47. It will be built by Boeing, in a blow to Lockheed Martin, which was hoping to win the lucrative contract.

Many saw Trump’s choice of Boeing as a lifeline to an aerospace firm that was in freefall. Lockheed Martin Wants to Build a “Super F-35” Fighter JetNot to be outdone, Lockheed recently put forward a proposal for what they’re tentatively referring to as the “Super” F-35 Lightning II.Described as a “fifth-generation-plus” warplane, Lockheed aims to take the technological accoutrements of the sixth-generation warplane and apply it to the fifth-generation airframe of the F-35.

According to proponents of this new(ish) warplane, the F-35 Super will have almost the same capabilities of the proposed F-47 sixth-generation warplane, for half the cost. This all sounds wonderful for those interested in reining in the permissive budgetary environment that is the Pentagon. To be clear, the creation of a fifth-generation-plus warplane is much preferable to the more than $300 million-per-plane F-47.

What’s not so clear, though, is how Lockheed Martin will keep costs down. Talk is cheap. Military contractors are not.

After all, the defense industry has struggled to keep the costs down for their F-15EX Eagle II, the fourth-generation-plus warplane developed by Boeing in response to what has been massive delays and cost overruns in Lockheed’s F-35 program.Taking a preexisting airframe and radically enhancing it sounds great on paper, but it has yet to work out as planned. Indeed, Boeing’s fourth-generation-plus F-15EX Eagle II is, in many cases, more expensive than its fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II competition! What’s to prevent the proposed fifth-generation-plus plane from Lockheed from going the same way? The Pentagon Doesn’t Know How to Cut Costs Shoveling more tax dollars into the defense budget will not solve the problem.

That’s because the problem resides within the defense industrial base itself. Only a comprehensive industrial policy that prioritizes maintaining and enhancing capabilities without significantly contributing to the national debt—itself a national security concern at this point—is the way forward. That doesn’t necessarily require money.

It just needs attention and focus on dedicated policymakers. Until that happens, U.S.

taxpayers will be made to foot a massive bill for products which will not be delivered on budget, on time, or in the quantity they are needed. About the Author: Brandon J. WeichertBrandon J.

Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy.

His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.Image: Shutterstock / Flight Video and Photo.

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