President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States is examining the development of a new twin-engine fighter jet, which he dubbed the F-55, in addition to planned upgrades to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor.
“We’re doing an upgrade, a simple upgrade, but we’re also doing an F-55,” Trump said during a meeting with U.S. business and military leaders in Doha. “I’m going to call it an F-55, and that’s going to be a substantial upgrade, but it’s going to be also with two engines, because the F-35 has a single engine. I don’t like single engines.”
Trump also said, “We’re going to do the F-55 and—I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price—that’ll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we’re going to do the F-22.”
In a slightly confusing press conference yesterday in Qatar, U.S. President Donald J. Trump claimed that the F-35 Lightning II will be receiving a simple upgrade soon, but that he also wants a more substantial upgrade for the F-35 to what he calls the F-55, which will have… pic.twitter.com/NL0rz53t6v
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The president’s comments, made during a business roundtable attended by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp, marked the first public mention of either the F-55 or what he referred to as the “F-22 Super.”
Trump’s trip to Qatar included a visit to U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base and coincided with a $96 billion agreement between Boeing and Qatar Airways for 160 commercial aircraft.
Lockheed Martin, which manufactures both the F-35 and F-22, responded to the remarks in a statement. “We thank President Trump for his support of the F-35 and F-22 and will continue to work closely with the administration to realize its vision for air dominance,” a company spokesperson told Axios. Lockheed deferred technical questions to the White House.
While Trump did not elaborate on specific capabilities or design features of the proposed F-55 beyond its twin-engine configuration, analysts noted that such a shift would likely require a new airframe design. “Adding an engine to the F-35 makes it a new aircraft,” U.K.-based defense analyst Francis Tusa told Reuters.
A twin-engine configuration typically provides greater thrust and redundancy in the event of engine failure. It can also increase an aircraft’s payload and altitude capabilities, though it adds weight and complexity. These trade-offs are common in larger air superiority fighters like the F-22 Raptor, which is already a twin-engine stealth platform.
Trump also discussed upgrading the F-22 Raptor. “I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but we’re going to do an F-22 Super, and it’ll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet,” he said.
The announcement comes weeks after the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing the contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. The winning design, reportedly designated F-47, will serve as a crewed sixth-generation fighter accompanied by autonomous drones. The platform is intended to replace the F-22 over the coming decades.
Lockheed CEO James Taiclet said last month that the company is repurposing technology from its NGAD bid for possible future platforms. “We’re basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari,” Taiclet told analysts, suggesting a push for a more affordable “fifth-generation-plus” design that could offer enhanced capabilities at lower cost.
Analysts also noted it remains unclear how Trump’s proposed projects align with existing budgetary plans or procurement schedules. Agency Partners aerospace analyst Nick Cunningham told Reuters that the F-55 may instead refer to the Navy’s F/A-XX program, designed to replace the aging F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet.
No official development program or contract has been announced for either the F-55 or F-22 Super as of Thursday. The Defense Department and White House have not released additional details on either concept.
