A 13 May tweet posted on X by General David Allvin shows the progression in capability between 4th, 5th and 6th generation of USAF platforms and gives us a first couple of indications about the performances associated to the new Boeing F-47 NGAD and to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1 by Anduril and General Atomics.

For the F-47, the graphic gives a combat radius of over 1,000 nautical miles, confirming a major focus on long “legs” to better cope with the distances and expected characteristics of a fight in the Indo-Pacific. It is interesting to note that the graphic suggests a different reality from the perceived, commonly accepted wisdom about the F-22 and F-35 in which it credits the F-22 (although, we assume, without external tanks) with a 590 nautical miles combat radius, substantially below the 670 nm credited to the F-35A, itself a value higher than quoted in most publications.

The F-47 jet will also be capable of exceeding Mach 2 speeds and, unsurprisingly, it is credited with “stealth ++”, meaning an advancement in its low-observability features. In terms of numbers, the graphic shows “185+” F-47 are planned, less than the 200 normally used as objective. The USAF essentially plans at least to replace F-22 “one for one” with the hope of adding more of the new jets.

For CCA, the YFQ-42A by General Atomics and the YFQ-44A by Anduril are credited with a combat radius of over 700 nautical miles. Speed remains classified. In terms of numbers, the USAF reaffirms the intent to field more than 1,000 CCAs.

The number of F-15E and EX is also of some interest since the final acquisition objective for the F-15EX remains a mobile goalpost at present, with the 150 billion “reconciliation” package for Defense containing billions in extra funding, as well as money to prevent the withdrawal of existing F-15E. In the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request as originally presented, the F-15EX total was put at 90, a total number of orders that would be reached with the 18 jets included in 2025 specifically, with no further orders expected from 2026 onwards. Boeing delivered the 9th F-15EX to the 142nd Wing in Portland, Oregon at the beginning of the month.

Regarding the existing F-15E fleet, since 2023 the USAF has had a plan to withdraw the older STRIKE EAGLES fitted with the less powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E engines. If this plan was fully followed, 119 out of 226 F-15Es would be removed from service. In its FY2025 budget book, the USAF gives the number of F-15E as 218 in 2024, reducing to 192 in 2025: the new funding package would presumably prevent this and maintain the fleet at 218.

The number of 185 F-22 given in the graphic is also accurate as of 2024: in FY 2025 it was expected the number would reduce to 153 due to the removal from service of the early Block 20 aircraft used as training fleet. Again, the HASC funding package prevents that reduction.

The number quoted for the F-16, 830, is the total aircraft inventory planned at the end of FY 2025 (down slightly from 841 in 2024). With ongoing deliveries, the number of F-35A should grow to 526 by the end of FY2025.

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