Though paying homage to the official F-47 renderings, the mannequin in RTX’s video is definitely based mostly on a notional design by artist Rodrigo Avella.
A brand new promotional video launched by RTX, mum or dad firm of engine builder Pratt & Whitney, to assist their bid to produce engines for the F-47, exhibits an attention-grabbing new rendering of an unspecified NGAD-style design. Nevertheless, whereas some options is likely to be paying homage to the official F-47 renderings launched by the U.S. Air Power, the mannequin within the video is definitely based mostly on a notional design by artist Rodrigo Avella.
Pratt & Whitney mum or dad firm RTX, previously often called Raytheon, launched a brand new video depicting pc renderings of their XA103 design by way of their YouTube channel on Jun. 24, 2025. Together with views of the engine itself, a short part of the video exhibits the engines being flown in a computer-generated plane design.
The XA103 is an adaptive cycle engine design proposed by Pratt & Whitney for the U.S. Air Power’s subsequent era fighter plane, competing in opposition to Normal Electrical’s XA102. Only a few actual specs for these engine designs are presently identified, in addition to the expectation of thrust efficiency within the 35,000 to 40,000 lbf bracket. These designs each fall below the Subsequent Era Adaptive Propulsion, or NGAP, program.
The NGAD design
Clearly a stealthy fighter design, the plane notably options canards and no vertical stabilizers. Whereas the precise planform of the Boeing F-47, or another NGAD proposals, is unknown, it has lengthy been thought (and deduced from earlier renderings) that these are largely supposed to be tailless designs.
Nevertheless, the mannequin within the video, as talked about earlier, relies on a notional F/A-XX (the Navy’s personal NGAD) design by artist Rodrigo Avella, who first launched it in 2017. Avella just lately posted once more some photographs of this design on his Instagram profile, mentioning he’s conscious that his mannequin “was broadly used on YouTube and different websites” after the disclosing of the F-47. As a matter of truth, even the Air Power used his fashions previously. Anyway, the mannequin consists of some completely different design options in comparison with the official F-47 rendering, such because the wing dihedral.
There was intense hypothesis relating to the official renderings launched by the U.S. Air Power of the Boeing F-47 which seems to indicate the plane with canard management surfaces. It ought to be famous, although, that the renderings had been reportedly designed and doctored in such a solution to obscure the sort’s true design options. As such, the that includes of canards in lots of renderings could also be a deliberate try at diverting curiosity in the direction of a totally false design.
That being mentioned, it’s greater than attainable that the F-47, and certainly different NGAD proposals, do characteristic canards. Although a lot commentary, notably close to the Chinese language J-20, claims that canards are detrimental to an plane’s radar cross-section, there are in truth some ways to mitigate any detrimental results. Assessments of various plane planforms, together with canard designs, had been made throughout the improvement of the Joint Strike Fighter program. The McDonnell Douglas X-36, designed to judge the advantages of a tailless fighter design, was notably outfitted with canards.
It might be amazingly academic if F-47 has canards.Some: “canards should not good for stealth”… so, nothing else issues? Not the planform format? If mounted canards or as management surfaces? The scale, angle, materials? At all times higher to flap with the butt?LM mentioned, eh identical, identical. pic.twitter.com/WGPZtPzPqW
— Gripen Information (@GripenNews) March 22, 2025
New designs emanating from China additionally present a design option to forgo vertical stabilizers, with some photographs displaying new trailing edge management surfaces which are possible performing of their place. Notably, although, these new designs don’t characteristic canards.
Additionally with out canards is the Edgewing GCAP, or Tempest, a three way partnership between Italy, Japan, and the UK, and the German-French-Spanish FCAS. Each of those European sixth era fighter designs do characteristic conventional tail management surfaces, suggesting an total much less superior design however one that can possible be a extra inexpensive and smoother evolutionary step from present fashions.
Subsequent Era Adaptive Propulsion
As talked about above, the XA102 and XA103 are the 2 engines being thought-about to energy the manned NGAD fighter, now identified to be the Boeing F-47. Each are adaptive cycle engines utilizing three stream designs that enable the engine’s bypass ratio to be reconfigured in flight for both gasoline effectivity and cool-running, or most thrust efficiency and energy era.
Elevated energy era is a crucial consideration given the prospect of directed vitality weapons and ever advancing digital warfare methods which are certain to be built-in onto the F-47. Every firm is utilizing their respective XA100 and XA101 engine designs, which had been supposed as potential choices for F-35 re-engining, because the foundations for these new powerplants.
Adaptive cycle engines had been beforehand thought-about throughout the Superior Tactical Fighter (ATF) program that noticed the YF-22 and YF-23 compete in opposition to one another. Ultimately, the extra conventional Pratt & Whitney F119 engine was chosen to energy the successful F-22 fighter.
Important design opinions had been accomplished for the XA102 and XA103 in 2023 and 2024 respectively, with floor testing then flight testing anticipated to start within the coming years. These processes will should be speedy ought to the engines be prepared for the Boeing F-47’s proposed first flight by 2029.
“Boeing beforehand constructed a prototype of the F-47 in secret earlier than 2019. An undisclosed variety of further plane will probably be constructed to assist flight testing throughout the engineering and manufacturing improvement part, with a primary flight anticipated earlier than 2029” ~ Aviation Week pic.twitter.com/pMcBNDIGLn
— AirPower 2.0 (MIL_STD) (@AirPowerNEW1) June 9, 2025
As soon as the successful design is prepared and has matured to a ample stage, it will likely be attention-grabbing to notice whether or not it will likely be thought-about to energy future unmanned methods that can function alongside the F-47. We don’t know for certain what number of engines the F-47 can have, though many predict a twin-engine design, however smaller and lighter drones could possibly be powered by a single XA102 or XA103 engine.
Because the F-47 is designed to work in tandem with unmanned plane, termed Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA), sharing engine designs between the manned and unmanned segments of a deployable power could be a prudent solution to simplify required logistics and upkeep provisions.
Present CCA designs are of a scale the place such engines could be vastly overpowered. The YFQ-44A Fury, for instance, is predicted to utilise a Williams FJ44 powerplant in any other case primarily utilized by enterprise jets. Future CCAs, although, might develop in measurement and weight significantly to accommodate larger gasoline masses and, extra importantly, bigger weapon payloads.
