Ten of The World’s Fastest Combat Aircraft

The aviation world has come a long way since the Wright brothers built the first aeroplane in 1903 and of course, aircraft speeds have increased as a result of the hard work of the engineers who design them. These days those speeds have reached such dimensions that travel times between continents have decreased to the level of minutes, but these are no passenger jets, they are fast and deadly combat aircraft and before you can blink they could drop a missile and be home for tea (or reference 1 Mach (M) = 761.2 MPH & 1225 KPH)…

SU-27 FLANKER (2.35 MACH)

SU-27 FLANKER (2.35 MACH)

WIKI: The Sukhoi Su-27 (Russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi.

F-111 AARDVARK (2.5 MACH)

F-111 AARDVARK (2.5 MACH)

WIKI: The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack, strategic bombing, reconnaissance and electronic warfare.

F-15 EAGLE (2.5 MACH)

F-15 EAGLE (2.5 MACH)

WIKI: The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas. Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas’s design in 1969 to meet the service’s need for a dedicated air superiority fighter.

MIG-31 FOXHOUND (2.83 MACH)

MIG-31 FOXHOUND (2.83 MACH)

WIKI: The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 “Foxbat”; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25.

XB-70 VALKRIE (3.02 MACH)

XB-70 VALKRIE (3.02 MACH)

WIKI: The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration supersonic strategic bomber for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Designed in the late 1950s by North American Aviation (NAA), the six-engined Valkyrie was capable of cruising for thousands of miles at Mach 3+ while flying at 70,000 feet (21,000 m).

BELL X-2 STARBUSTER (3.2 MACH)

BELL X-2 STARBUSTER (3.2 MACH)

WIKI: The Bell X-2 (nicknamed “Starbuster”) was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Corporation, the United States Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to explore aerodynamic problems of supersonic flight and to expand the speed and altitude regimes obtained with the earlier X-1 series of research aircraft.

MIG-25 FOXBAT (3.2 MACH)

MIG-25 FOXBAT (3.2 MACH)

WIKI: The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union’s Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is one of the few combat aircraft built primarily using stainless steel.

LOCKHEED YF-12 (3.2 MACH)

LOCKHEED YF-12 (3.2 MACH)

WIKI: The Lockheed YF-12 was an American Mach 3+ capable, high-altitude interceptor prototype, developed and manufactured by American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a potential replacement for the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor for the United States Air Force.

SR-71 BLACKBIRD (3.3 MACH)

SR-71 BLACKBIRD (3.3 MACH)

WIKI: The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force and NASA.

X-15 (6.72 MACH)

X-15 (6.72 MACH)

WIKI: The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and returning with valuable data used in aircraft and spacecraft design.

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