The F-35 Lightning II is the new face of U.S. military aircraft. It comes as the fifth generation of modern fighter jets is now in play on the world stage. Fifth-generation fighter jets are designed with an emphasis on stealth technology and radar evasion. These modern fighter jets build on decades of technology and the numerous fighter planes of previous generations dating back to World War II.
The common denominator with all these fighter planes is that they are all meant for air-to-air engagement. Many of the modern jets are capable of engaging enemy forces in the air as well as on the ground. The United States has been at the forefront of manufacturing these aircraft, and as it stands now, has the most comprehensive fleet of fighter jets in the world. (These are every plane in the U.S. military.)
To determine every major fighter plane used by the U.S. military, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of U.S. aircraft from Military Factory. We ordered these aircraft chronologically by the year they were introduced. We included supplemental information from Military Factory regarding the type of aircraft, manufacturer, total aircraft produced, and top speed. We excluded some lesser-known aircraft and those with smaller production runs.
All of the aircraft listed are capable of takeoff from standard runways, but there has been a critical evolution in how fighter planes take off since World War II. At that time, the importance of aircraft carriers was fully realized, having played a pivotal role in the Pacific Theater. As such, many of the fighter planes and aircraft that followed were adapted for carrier-based takeoff and landing. Some of these aircraft even have variants that are capable of vertical takeoff and landing. (These are America’s 15 planes that fly on aircraft carriers.)
The AV-8B Harrier II is a perfect example of such carrier-based aircraft. These fighter jets entered service in 1985 and can take off or land practically anywhere, fully utilizing their VTOL system. The Harrier II is capable of carrying laser-guided bombs, air-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and they come standard with a 25mm GAU-12U Equalizer machine gun in an under-fuselage pod.
Following the Harrier II and F-18 Hornets of the early 1980s, the F/A-18 Super Hornet was the next evolution of carrier-based aircraft. This jet entered service in 1999 and is capable of hitting supersonic speeds of roughly 1,200 mph. It can be outfitted with Sidewinder, Harpoon, HARM, and Maverick missiles, as well as a series of laser-guided bombs or nuclear bombs. Currently, only seven nations — outside of the United States — have these jets in their possession.
Here is a look at every major fighter plane in the U.S. military:
Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin / Northrop Grumman / BAe Systems
Total aircraft produced: 785
Top speed: 1,199 mph
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