Will Pentagon Build a “Pacific Variant” 6th-Gen F-47 to Counter China

By Kris Osborn, Warrior

(Washington DC) The recently resurrected  6th-generation stealth fighter, now called the F-47, could prove essential in any effort to contain or defeat China in the air in the Pacific for a number of key reasons; it seems conceivable that the Pentagon might engineer a Pacific-specific F-47 variant designed to prevail in the extensive ranges or “tyranny of distance” known to characterize the region.  A Pacific F-47 could be configured with larger fuel tanks for a massively expanded range, something potentially of great significance in a large-scale air war with China. 

At one point several years ago, former Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown said the service was analyzing the possibility of having two different variants of the NGAD, perhaps one for the Pacific and another, shorter-range, smaller variant for Europe. 

While the growing, multi-service and multi-national fleet of F-35s continues to present a formidable deterrent in the Pacific theater, some might wonder if the current deterrence posture in the air is insufficient to meet a fast-evolving Chinese threat in future years.

The concept of a specially configured long-range F-47 for the Pacific makes a lot of sense.