This US Air Force Jet Could Fly From New York to LA in 90 Minutes

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• The U.S. has the largest fleet of military aircraft. Combat aircraft play different roles in the military.
• Faster planes are more likely to be fighter jets, and slower planes more likely to carry heavy armament or offer support.
• The fastest aircraft on this list flies at nearly 1,900 mph, which means it could fly from New York City to Los Angeles in just 90 minutes.
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In the 1800s, American military approached a new vantage point to strategically enhance its capabilities: the sky. Thadeus Lowe and John LaMountain supported Union operations in 1861 by launching reconnaissance balloons. By the early 1900s, the U.S. government provided $125,000 to support Air Force expansion; in the coming years, the use of military aircraft was a boon to U.S. combat and military forces. Today’s military aircraft are significantly developed from aircraft of the past with increasing speed and new technologies. (Now let’s explore the future of military aviation.)

Today’s Air Force jets, and aircraft used in other military branches, must be easy to maneuver and precise. While modern fighter jets focus more on stealth, allowing for effective reconnaissance, these fighter jets are still considered some of the fastest globally. The U.S. military, comparatively to the rest of the world, is host to the largest fleet of military aircraft, including technologically advanced fifth-generation fighter jets, though sixth-generation jets are in the works. (Here are the fastest and most powerful fighter jets in existence.)

The F-15 Strike Eagle is one of the fastest aircraft on the planet. As a strike fighter, the F-15 is designed to quickly enter a combat zone, engage, and exit before opposing forces can retaliate with anti-aircraft defense systems. It can carry a range of air-to-surface missiles as well as air-to-air missiles to take out any target it may come across. The AC-130J Ghostrider is much slower, topping out at just over 400 mph. This plane acts in a ground attack capacity as well as for close-air support and is heavily armed with high-caliber cannons, gatling guns, precision-guided bombs, and missiles. (These are the most iconic strike fighter aircraft since WWII.)