The Fastest NATO Fighter Jets Are American-Made Marvels

By Chris Lange Updated Dec 12, 6:46AM EST · Published Dec 11, 11:30AM EST

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The Fastest NATO Fighter Jets Are American-Made Marvels — © Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr

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

Illinois National Guard by The National Guard

Illinois National Guard (CC BY 2.0) by The National Guard

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

SU-22 Fitter - RIAT 2014 by Airwolfhound

SU-22 Fitter - RIAT 2014 (BY-SA 2.0) by Airwolfhound

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

Rockwell International (now part of Boeing) B-1B 'Lancer' by aeroman3

Rockwell International (now part of Boeing) B-1B 'Lancer' (PDM 1.0) by aeroman3

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

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assig... by Official U.S. Navy Page

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assig... (CC BY 2.0) by Official U.S. Navy Page

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

General Dynamics F-16C 'Fighting Falcons' by aeroman3

General Dynamics F-16C 'Fighting Falcons' (PDM 1.0) by aeroman3

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)

Slovakia+military+aircraft | JAS-39 Gripen Czechia

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

Dassault Rafale C (CC BY 2.0) by Dave_S.

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

7006 over Sajek: Bangladesh Ai... by Shadman Samee

7006 over Sajek: Bangladesh Ai... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Shadman Samee

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

Mirage 2000-5f (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Rob Schleiffert

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

F-4 Phantom II, San Diego, 1995 by euthman

F-4 Phantom II, San Diego, 1995 (BY-SA 2.0) by euthman

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

Eurofighter typhoon Germany by Julian Herzog

Eurofighter typhoon Germany (CC BY 4.0) by Julian Herzog

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

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.