A St. Louis factory expansion to support full-rate production of the Boeing F-47 fighter will see its first facilities open in 2026, the construction contractor said.
The 1.1-million-ft.2 facility expansion will be complete by 2030, Dallas-based construction company Jacobs said June 5.
The timing offers the first clue of when Boeing will have the infrastructure ready to support full-rate production of the new U.S. Air Force fighter.
Boeing previously built a prototype of the F-47 in secret before 2019. An undisclosed number of additional aircraft will be built to support flight testing during the engineering and manufacturing development phase, with a first flight expected before 2029.
In the meantime, Boeing will be preparing the St. Louis site for follow-on production work.
Since 2023, the facility expansion project navigated several regulatory hurdles, including an accelerated, eight-month approval process for National Environmental Policy Act compliance, Jacobs said.
“This achievement—including the required demolition of an old facility—demonstrates our experience navigating complex design and environmental challenges,” Executive Vice President Susannah Kerr said.
Boeing submitted plans in 2023 to build the $1.8 billion Advanced Combat Aircraft Facility on a site adjacent to its assembly lines for the F-15EX and the F/A-18E/F.
The project's first phase includes plans to erect and renovate 1.1 million ft.2 of facilities on the 110-acre Brownleigh and 75-acre Northern tracts adjacent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, according to planning documents released by the airport authority in 2023.
Phase 1 includes the construction of a 880,000-ft.2 aircraft assembly building on the Brownleigh site, plus a 185,000-ft.2 hangar, 80,000-ft.2 radar cross-section test facility, open aircraft shelters, hush house, maintenance building, fuel calibration building and fire house totaling 90,000 ft.2 on the Northern tract.