What Comes After the F-35? F-47, F/A-XX, Drones and the Upgrade Path

Nothing is planned to replace the F-35, and nothing will be for a long time: the jet is due to stay in production into the 2040s and in service into the 2070s. What comes after it is a set of aircraft that will fly beside it. The US Air Force’s F-47 and the Navy’s F/A-XX are sixth-generation fighters built to replace older types, not the F-35, and both are meant to work with armed drones.

This final article in our F-35 series explains how those pieces fit together, what America’s allies are planning, and when a true F-35 successor might appear.

The short answer

The F-35 is not near the end of its life. More than 1,375 have been delivered, as we set out in how many F-35s have been built, and the United States alone still plans to buy 2,456. The Pentagon’s cost estimates run to 2088.

The next generation is arriving above the F-35, not in place of it. The new fighters are bigger, longer-ranged and much more expensive, and they will be bought in small numbers. The F-35 remains the aircraft that makes up most of the fleet.

The programmes that follow the F-35

F-47: the Air Force’s new top fighter

Boeing’s F-47 is the centrepiece of the Next Generation Air Dominance programme. The Air Force has stated a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles and a top speed above Mach 2, and plans to buy at least 185. The first aircraft is being built, with a first flight planned for 2028. Our guide to what the F-47 is has the details.

It replaces the F-22 in the air-superiority role. With outside price estimates of up to $300 million each, it cannot replace the F-35 in numbers. The two are intended to operate together, in the same way the F-22 and F-35 do today; see F-35 vs F-22.

F/A-XX: the Navy’s turn

On 29 September 2026 the Navy chose Boeing to build the F/A-XX, its first sixth-generation fighter, after a competition with Northrop Grumman. It will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet on carrier decks in the 2030s and serve next to the F-35C.

The decision came after more than a year of doubt over funding. It leaves Boeing’s St. Louis plant responsible for both American sixth-generation fighters, and Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s maker, with neither.

Drones are the nearer change

The change most F-35 pilots will see first is the arrival of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, jet-powered drones that carry missiles and sensors and take direction from a crewed fighter. The General Atomics YFQ-42A and Anduril YFQ-44A both flew in 2025, and the Air Force has spoken of buying more than 1,000.

The F-35 is one of the aircraft meant to control them. If the concept works, an F-35 with two or more armed drones becomes a far more capable formation without a new fighter being bought.

The F-35 itself is not standing still

Lockheed Martin’s answer to losing both sixth-generation contests has been to propose a much-upgraded F-35. Chief executive Jim Taiclet said in 2025 that the company could deliver 80 per cent of sixth-generation capability at half the cost by moving technology from its NGAD bid into the F-35, which he compared to turning it into a Ferrari.

The planned upgrades are more modest and already late: Block 4 and its TR-3 computers, the APG-85 radar and an engine core upgrade. Given the problems described in our article on F-35 readiness, delivering those on time matters more than any new variant.

What America’s allies are planning

Several F-35 customers are also building their own next fighter. The United Kingdom, Italy and Japan are partners in the Global Combat Air Programme, which aims to field an aircraft in 2035. France and Germany agreed in June 2026 to end their joint FCAS fighter after a long dispute between the industrial partners, leaving each to look for its own way forward. Turkey, removed from the F-35 programme, is developing the KAAN.

For most other operators the F-35 will be the newest fighter they own for decades. The F-47 has not been offered for export in any concrete way.

When will the F-35 itself be replaced?

Not before the 2040s at the earliest. No requirement for an F-35 replacement has been written, and the services are still buying the aircraft. If history is a guide, studies will begin in the 2030s, once the F-47 and F/A-XX are in service and the role of drones is clearer. A successor could well be uncrewed.

Frequently asked questions

What will replace the F-35?

Nothing is planned yet. The F-35 is due to serve into the 2070s. The F-47 and F/A-XX replace the F-22 and the Super Hornet and will operate alongside the F-35.

Is the F-47 replacing the F-35?

No. The F-47 replaces the F-22 Raptor as the US Air Force’s air-superiority fighter. At least 185 are planned, against 1,763 F-35As.

What is the F/A-XX?

It is the US Navy’s sixth-generation carrier fighter. Boeing was selected to build it on 29 September 2026, and it will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Is there a sixth-generation F-35?

No, but Lockheed Martin has proposed an upgraded F-35 using technology from its sixth-generation work, which it says would offer 80 per cent of the capability at half the cost.

How long will the F-35 be in service?

US plans keep it flying into the 2070s, and Pentagon cost estimates extend to 2088.

Will drones replace the F-35?

Not soon. Collaborative Combat Aircraft are designed to fly with crewed fighters such as the F-35 and F-47, not to replace them. A later successor could be uncrewed.