Allvin: Air Force owns more tech on F-47, dodging F-35 mistake
By Stephen Losey
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told lawmakers Tuesday the service will be able to upgrade the sixth-generation F-47 with new technology quicker and easier than the F-35. (U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force’s acquisition strategy shift on the F-47 sixth-generation fighter will give the service greater ownership of the jet’s technology and allow quicker and easier future upgrades, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said.
In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Allvin confirmed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., that the service is taking a markedly different acquisition approach to the Boeing-made F-47, previously referred to as Next Generation Air Dominance, than it did on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
“The primary difference is that we now have more control over the [F-47] project as it moves forward,” Allvin said. “We have in-sourced more. We have more ownership of the tech base. We guided a government reference architecture, so we own the mission systems. And so others can come in and play, but we own the development, the upgrade.”
A government reference architecture, or GRA, is a road map provided by the government that guides a program’s design, development, production and sustainment processes.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2025/05/22/allvin-air-force-owns-more-tech-on-f-47-dodging-f-35-mistake/
