RENTON, Wash. — Boeing has secured the military contract for the Air Force’s future fighter jet.

President Trump on Friday said the program is essential for a potential conflict with China, which has presumably been flying a sixth generation fighter around since December.

Industry experts told KOMO News this deal is a real fix for the troubled aerospace giant.

“Five months ago, we were talking about whether Boeing Defense was going to be selling off parts of its business, and today this is a huge win for the company, and the redemption tour officially begins right now,” longtime Pentagon journalist-turned-defense consultant Marcus Weisgerber explained.

The Air Force, in a statement, wrote the manned Next Generation Air Dominance jet, called the F-47, will be the “most advanced, lethal, and adaptable fighter ever developed – designed to outpace, outmaneuver, and outmatch any adversary.”

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While the F-22 is currently the finest air superiority fighter in the world, and its modernization will make it even better, the F-47 is a generational leap forward. The maturity of the aircraft at this phase in the program confirms its readiness to dominate the future fight,” the statement continued. “Compared to the F-22, the F-47 will cost less and be more adaptable to future threats – and we will have more of the F-47s in our inventory. The F-47 will have significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability.

Aviation consultant Michael Boyd believes Trump is well aware of the problems reported at Boeing, from 737 production delays to the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines commercial flight in Jan. 2024. He said awarding the contract to the troubled aerospace company would force it to make major changes to safety and quality control. He adds that will likely involve more federal oversight.

What you’re looking at is a Boeing that can’t get 737s off the line. Even the new Air Force One is years late,” Boys explained. “They didn’t get this contract because of a vote of confidence. They got this contract because they’ve now been told, ‘You’re going to deliver, or we’re going to do something bad to you.’

Weisgerber explained there have been years-long test runs of this upcoming sixth generation fighter jet in a development program. The next test will be turning those prototypes into production-quality aircraft in the coming months or years.

“Presumably, due to the nature of this program, there will be a lot of oversight and scrutiny,” Weisgerber told KOMO News. “The other thing is this is going to be of the utmost, highest priority to make sure those quality issues they have been seeing in commercial and with the KC-46 tanker (military transport aircraft) don’t seep into this program.”

As of Friday, it was not confirmed where the aircraft would be built. Boeing’s fighter jet production is in St. Louis, including the jet trainer, the T-7.

Weisgerber explained Boeing traditionally does its work across multiple sites. He believes this contract will bring decades more work to St. Louis, but that engineering or sub-components could be built elsewhere. Because this program is classified, those answers might not be revealed for a while, Weisgerber warned.

Boyd adds he believes Renton’s production facility could be in the mix.

It’s a huge project so we’re talking about Renton, we’re talking about Charleston, South Carolina, we’re talking St. Louis, we’re talking Helena, Montana,” Boyd said. “There will be a piece for everybody because they’re going to want to get it done quick, and I think it’s going to be something that’s going to turn Boeing around.

In response to the announcement, Boeing Defense, Space & Security Interim President and CEO Steve Parker released the following statement: “We recognize the importance of designing, building, and delivering a 6th-generation fighter capability for the United States Air Force. In preparation for this mission, we made the most significant investment in the history of our defense business, and we are ready to provide the most advanced and innovative NGAD aircraft needed to support the mission.”