As tensions continue to heat up around the world, NATO has to remain ever vigilant as the preeminent military alliance. Much of NATO’s capabilities in maintaining peace stem from its impressive fleet of combat aircraft. The ability to deploy many of these jets at a moment’s notice to practically anywhere in the world is a major advantage for NATO. Among these jets, the American-made fighters are by far the fastest. (This NATO country has 12,000 more aircraft than any other country.)

Combat aircraft like the F-22 Raptor or F-15 Eagle stand out as some of the most exceptional in terms of their speed and agility. These aircraft are important to NATO’s overall rapid response strategies, providing air superiority allowing the alliance to operate freely across various theatres.

Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the fastest combat aircraft in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. To identify the fastest combat aircraft in NATO, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication. We ordered these aircraft by top speed. We also included supplemental data on the type of aircraft, armament, and more. We excluded trainer aircraft.

Here is a look at the fastest combat aircraft in NATO:

Why Are We Covering This?

Understanding the combat aircraft in NATO’s arsenal is important because they are at the heart of the alliance’s defensive capabilities and its influence on global security. Each aircraft serves a distinct purpose within NATO, ranging from air superiority fighters to long-range bombers, and even electronic warfare aircraft that disrupt enemy systems. Knowing which aircraft that NATO countries deploy gives insight into the overall military strategies of the alliance.

26. AC-130W Stinger II

• Type: Special operations fixed-wing gunship
• Year introduced: 2010
• Active aircraft: 3
• Top speed: 300 mph
• Armament: 30mm Bushmaster II GAU-23/A gatling gun, Viper Strike missiles, Griffin missiles, Hellfire missiles

25. AC-130J Ghostrider

• Type: Ground attack / close-air support
• Year introduced: 2017
• Active aircraft: 29
• Top speed: 416 mph
• Armament: 30mm ATK GAU-23/A automatic cannon, 105mm M102 field howitzer, Griffin missiles, Viper Strike precision-guided bombs, Hellfire missiles, drop bombs

24. A-10C Thunderbolt II

• Type: Close-air support / forward air control
• Year introduced: 1976
• Active aircraft: 270
• Top speed: 439 mph
• Armament: 30mm GAU-8/A gatling gun, Maverick missiles, Sidewinder missiles, rocket pods, drop bombs, cluster bombs, Paveway bombs

23. Aero L-159 ALCA

• Type: Light combat aircraft
• Year introduced: 2000
• Active aircraft: 16
• Top speed: 582 mph
• Armament: 20mm ZVI Plamen PL-20 cannons, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, rocket pods

22. Su-25 Grach Frogfoot

• Type: Combat aircraft
• Year introduced: 1981
• Active aircraft: 5
• Top speed: 590 mph
• Armament: 30mm GSh- internal cannon, rocket pods, guided munitions, conventional drop bombs, air-to-surface missiles, air-to-air missiles

21. B-52H Stratofortress

• Type: Long range strategic heavy bomber
• Year introduced: 1955
• Active aircraft: 72
• Top speed: 595 mph
• Armament: ACLM cruise missiles, Harpoon missiles, CALCM cruise missiles, joint direct attack munitions, freefall nuclear bombs

20. B-2 Spirit

• Type: Strategic stealth heavy bomber
• Year introduced: 1997
• Active aircraft: 17
• Top speed: 628 mph
• Armament: Air-launched cruise missiles, strategic free-fall nuclear bombs, conventional drop bombs, joint direct attack munitions, JASSM missiles

19. AMX

• Type: Light strike / advanced trainer aircraft
• Year introduced: 1989
• Active aircraft: 19
• Top speed: 651 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61A1 Vulcan internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Piranha missiles, Paveway II laser-guided munitions, rocket pods, cluster bombs, conventional drop bombs, Skyshark munition dispenser, Opher imaging infra-red guided bomb

18. AV-8B/+ Harrier II

• Type: Short take-off and vertical landing strike aircraft
• Year introduced: 1985
• Active aircraft: 113
• Top speed: 665 mph
• Armament: 30mm ADEN cannons, drop bombs, laser-guided bombs, Maverick missiles, Harpoon missiles, cluster munitions, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, joint direct attack munitions

17. Su-22 Fitter

• Type: Strike fighter
• Year introduced: 1970
• Active aircraft: 32
• Top speed: 718 mph
• Armament: 30mm autocannons, conventional drop bombs, guided bombs, rocket pods, gun pods, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles

16. B-1B Lancer

• Type: Strategic heavy bomber
• Year introduced: 1986
• Active aircraft: 42
• Top speed: 833 mph
• Armament: Joint direct attack munitions, general purpose bombs, naval mines, cluster munitions, SRAM missiles, JASSM missiles, JSOW missiles, freefall nuclear bombs

15. KAI T-50 / FA-50 Golden Eagle

• Type: Light attack aircraft / advanced trainer
• Year introduced: 2005
• Active aircraft: 2
• Top speed: 990 mph
• Armament: 20mm A-50 Vulcan internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Maverick missiles, cluster bombs, rocket pods, general purpose bombs, guided drop bombs

14. F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

• Type: Carrier-based strike fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1999
• Active aircraft: 421
• Top speed: 1,187 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61A1 Vulcan automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, Maverick missiles, joint direct att munitions, Rockeye II bombs, general purpose bombs

13. F/A-18 Hornet

• Type: Carrier-based strike fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1983
• Active aircraft: 331
• Top speed: 1,190 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Sparrow missiles, Maverick missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, laser-guided / precision drop bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, nuclear-tipped ordnance

12. F-35A Lightning II

• Type: Multirole 5th generation aircraft
• Year introduced: 2016
• Active aircraft: 488
• Top speed: 1,199 mph
• Armament: 25mm GAU-12/U automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Paveway guided bombs, Rockeye II bombs, Brimstone missiles, Storm Shadow missiles, drop bombs

11. F-16C Fighting Falcon

• Type: Multirole 4th generation fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1978
• Active aircraft: 1185
• Top speed: 1,317 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61 automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Maverick missiles, Penguin missiles, Runway denial bombs, cluster bombs, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs

10. JAS 39 Gripen (Griffen)

• Type: Multirole 4th generation fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1997
• Active aircraft: 95
• Top speed: 1370 mph
• Armament: 27mm Mauser BK-27 Revolver internal automatic cannon, Sidewinder misssiles, Skyflash missiles, Meteor missiles, MICA missiles, Maverick missiles, anti-ship missiles, cluster bombs, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs, laser-guided bombs

9. Dassault Rafale

• Type: Multirole fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 2001
• Active aircraft: 151
• Top speed: 1,383 mph
• Armament: 30mm GIAT 30/M791 internal automatic cannon, MICA missiles, Meteor missiles, Exocet missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, rocket pods, cruise missiles, Apache missiles, nuclear stand-off missiles

8. MiG-21 Fishbed

• Type: Multirole fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1959
• Active aircraft: 11
• Top speed: 1386 mph
• Armament: 23mm GSh-23 internal automatic cannon, air-to-air missiles, Molniya missiles, drop bombs

7. Mirage 2000-5F

• Type: Multirole fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1979
• Active aircraft: 120
• Top speed: 1,453 mph
• Armament: 30mm DEFA internal automatic cannon, Magic 2 missiles, Matra missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, anti-runway munition dispensers, cluster bombs, Exocet anti-ship missiles, nuclear stand-off missiles

6. F-4 Phantom II

• Type: Strike fighter
• Year introduced: 1960
• Active aircraft: 80
• Top speed: 1,473 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan, Skyflash missiles, Sparrow missiles, Sidewinder missiles, rocket pods, gun pods, conventional drop bombs, guided bombs

5. Panavia Tornado IDS

• Type: Low-level strike aircraft
• Year introduced: 1979
• Active aircraft: 104
• Top speed: 1491 mph
• Armament: 27mm Mauser internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, conventional drop bombs, guided bombs, cruise missiles, special mission pods

4. MiG-29 Fulcrum

• Type: Lightweight multirole fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 1984
• Active aircraft: 34
• Top speed: 1,519 mph
• Armament: 30mm GSh-1 internal automatic cannon, Alamo missiles, Adder missiles, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs, guided bombs

3. Eurofighter Typhoon

• Type: 4th generation multirole aircraft
• Year introduced: 2003
• Active aircraft: 411
• Top speed: 1,550 mph
• Armament: 27mm Mauser BK-27 internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, IRIS-T missiles, Meteor missiles, Storm Shadow missiles, MATRA missiles, Taurus stand-off missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-radiation missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs

2. F-22 Raptor

• Type: 5th generation air dominance fighter aircraft
• Year introduced: 2005
• Active aircraft: 178
• Top speed: 1,599 mph
• Armament: 20mm automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, joint drop munitions, drop bombs, air-launched cruise missiles

1. F-15EX Eagle II

• Type: Combat aircraft
• Year introduced: 1976
• Active aircraft: 377
• Top speed: 1,650 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61A1 automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Sparrow missiles, Maverick missiles, HARM missiles, laser-guided bombs, joint direct attack munitions, cluster bombs, nuclear bombs

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