The Blubber

President Donald Trump spoke to a crowd during a visit to Boeing's South Carolina facilities on February 17, 2017. On Friday, he revealed that Boeing had secured a substantial $20 billion contract to develop the Air Force's next-generation fighter jet, a move aimed at countering China’s growing military presence in the Pacific.

The new fighter jet represents a significant advancement in stealth technology and is designed to work in tandem with a new fleet of drones, enhancing its combat and surveillance capabilities while evading radar detection in contested airspace.

“This is next level,” Trump said during an Oval Office announcement, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth standing beside him. “Level five is good — this is level six.”

The announcement followed Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon earlier in the day to meet with Hegseth about China’s threat to the U.S. Musk has been a vocal critic of the Pentagon’s focus on crewed fighter jets like the one described in the announcement.

In social media posts late last year, Musk shared videos of drone swarms while criticizing crewed jets like the F-35. “Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35,” he wrote on his X account.

The next-generation fighter program was not included in the list of Pentagon weapons systems that were protected from potential cuts in a memo circulated by Hegseth in February.

By selecting Boeing, the Trump administration is choosing a middle ground between traditional crewed fighter jets and drones driven by artificial intelligence. The Next Generation Air Dominance program, a crewed aircraft, is designed to operate alongside a new family of combat drones.

“This plane flies with drones,” Trump emphasized. “That’s something no other plane can do.”

This decision marks a shift for Trump, who had previously been critical of Boeing. It’s a significant win for the company, especially after being excluded early in the process for an uncrewed fighter jet program.

Boeing is also grappling with issues related to the new Air Force One program, which Trump has criticized for delays and inefficiencies. “I’m not happy with Boeing,” he told reporters last month. “I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long. And we may do something else. We may go out and buy a plane or get a plane or something.”

However, key Republicans on Capitol Hill praised the decision on Friday and urged Trump to continue pursuing broader defense initiatives.

“The NGAD/F-47 is a vital platform that would allow the United States to rule the skies for years to come,” said Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), adding that he looked forward to “a broad revitalization of the defense industrial base.”

The Air Force is collaborating with drone maker General Atomics and tech startup Anduril to build prototypes for the program. One of the companies will eventually secure a contract to produce thousands of drones that will provide additional surveillance and strike capabilities in areas too dangerous for crewed aircraft.

The program is part of a select group of major modernization efforts at the Pentagon, including the B-21 bomber, still in development, and the Navy’s frigate program, which is behind schedule and over budget.

The development of the fighter jet will need to fit within a defense budget that is expected to remain largely flat, requiring military leaders to make tough decisions about which expensive modernization projects to pursue and which to scale back.

Trump mentioned on Friday that certain allies would also be interested in purchasing the new aircraft. The U.S. “will be selling them,” although these foreign versions will not include many of the sensitive technologies found in the U.S. jets. “We like to tone them down about 10 percent, which probably makes sense because someday, maybe they’re not our allies, right?”