President Trump Reveals Possible Development Of New Fighter Jets And Upgrading F-22 Raptors

JAKARTA - The United States is reviewing the development of a dual-engine fighter that will be known as the F-55, as well as an upgrade to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jet called the Super F-22, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

That was conveyed by President Trump while speaking at a meeting of business leaders, including Boeing and GE Aerospace leaders in Doha, Qatar, a day after announcing a series of business deals including orders from Qatar for 160 Boeing commercial jets.

President Trump called the F-55 an upgrade to Lockheed F-35 and a new development in comments that appear to echo talks by US arms giants about alternative "best values", after losing to Boeing to replace the F-22 super fighter.

He also highlighted the role of a new air domination platform called the F-47, which was recently awarded to Boeing, and said the United States was simultaneously considering upgrading stealth fighters designed to replace it, the F-22.

"We will make the F-55 and - I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price - it will be two machines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we will make the F-22," said President Trump, quoted by Reuters on May 16.

"I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but we will make the F-22 Super and it will be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet," he continued.

"We will do it fast enough," added President Trump.

Last month, President Trump awarded Boeing a contract for the F-47 - a replacement for the Lockheed F-22 stealth fighter that has a manned aircraft flanked by a group of drones and is considered America's most advanced fighter or sixth generation.

Lockheed Martin, who lost to Boeing in the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) competition and from separate contests for the new US Navy stealth jet, said it was now considering plans for "the fifth or more generation" fighter aircraft.

James Tailett's CEO told analysts last month Lockheed was looking to implement the technology developed for his losing F-47 contract to the F-35, providing 80 percent of the capability at half the cost.

"Basically, we're going to take a chassis and turn it into a Ferrari," he told analysts.

A Lockheed spokesman said, "We thank President Trump for his support for the F-35 and F-22 and will continue to work closely with the Government to realize his vision of dominating the air."

Lockheed is separately delaying technological and software upgrades for the generation of existing F-35 attack fighter aircraft, to increase the appearance of the cockpit and processing power.

Analysts say it is unclear how the list of potential developments of President Trump is in accordance with known spending programs and plans, or the timing of existing programs.

Separately, Agency Partners aerospace analyst Nick Cunningham said the F-55 may also refer to the F/A-XX program, which is meant to replace the US Navy's old Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet with the US Navy's sixth-generation stealth fighter.

The Navy and Congress are struggling with the government to keep the plan running. Reuters reported on Wednesday. The tender winner's announcement is expected to be as early as March.

Funding for the F-22, which was able to evade radar, designed to counter other fighter jets, has been hotly debated over the years as Congress blocked the Air Force's plans to accelerate retirement to focus on the next-generation blueprint to become the F-47.

Any significant upgrade to the disproduced F-22 will cost a fortune, while President Trump's reference to the two machines implies that the F-55 will not be a direct derivative of the single-engined F-35, but implies an ambitious new platform, analysts say.

"Adding engines to the F-35 makes it a new aircraft," said UK-based defense analyst Francis Tusa.