The Blue Angels recently made their first appearance in two years at the Boeing Seafair Air Show in early August, during which they flew a new combat jet: the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Aviation technology has come incredibly far from when Orville and Wilbur Wright made their inaugural flight in Kitty Hawk, NC. Decades have ed since then and the limits of maneuverability, construction, and speed have sured any limits that those two pioneers could have possibly imagined.
Ingenuity, the proliferation of travel, and war have sped up the engineering race to create the most efficient and effective aircraft. Different sorts of engines and varying design styles have combined to create the fastest vehicles available to mankind. Countries like the United States and Russia have led the way in creating supersonic aircraft, some invented decades ago, that are still in use today.
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is true to its name and was built as a t effort between European countries during the height of the Cold War in order to defend against the Soviet Union. The UK, , Italy, and Spain worked together to put together the highly maneuverable fighter jet, able to travel up to 1320 mph and Mach 2.0
When the Cold War suddenly ended and the Soviet Union dissolved, the European countries suddenly had no need for the jet, which led to a long debate on who was responsible for costs and production. In the end, the aircraft was eventually finished in 2003 and found to be of excellent design and capability. Many countries continue to field the planes and orders continue to be made by various countries.
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
Though not widely discussed, there was some aerial combat during the Vietnam War. Russian MiGs were used by Vietnamese forces to harass American planes throughout the conflict. American servicemen used their experience with combat against the MiGs to design a fighter jet in 1970 known as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
Able to fly at speeds of 1544 mph or 2.34 Mach, the jet was a staple of the American air force until the early 2000s. These planes are still used in the Middle East by Iran. After the American discontinuation, the only foreign purchaser of the aircraft was the Imperial Iranian Air Force.
Shenyang J-11
Many of the fastest planes in the world are knock-offs or even complete copies of similar designs. The Chinese Shenyang J-11 is based on a faster Soviet Union-era plane that is still in production. With a maximum speed of 1553 mph or Mach 2.35, the J-11 is one of the fastest manned airplanes or aircraft in operation.
This supersonic plane was developed in response to the growing air superiority of the NATO countries and their fourth-generation planes. The J-11 is an all-around fighter with the ability to perform bombing runs as well as maintain air superiority in aerial dogfights.
MiG-23 "Flogger"
The MiG-23, nicknamed "Flogger," is a Mach 2.35 bomber/fighter hybrid that can reach miles per hour at around 1553. This jet was produced by the Soviet Union in 1970 and while it no longer sees use with the current Russian armed forces, it is still employed by Indian and Sri Lankan defense forces.
It was one of the most heavily produced military aircraft in history and due to its prevalence, many other countries were often able to examine the planes when they were shot down. The "Flogger" eventually became specialized in bombing fixed positions once it was discovered that the speed of the plane made it difficult to maneuver in a dogfight.
Sukhoi SU-27 "Flanker"
A Soviet twin-engine fighter jet, the Sukhoi SU-27, is still in use today and was originally the answer to the American fourth-generation fighters. Over 35 years old, the SU-27s, nicknamed "Flankers," reach top speeds of 1600 mph or around 2.35 Mach.
The "Flanker" was created to gain air superiority and designed for super maneuverability, allowing it to perform a variety of aerial operations. Due to its success and all-around strength as a fighter jet, many variants were built from the "Flanker," including the Chinese Shenyang J-11.
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
At 1650 mph, 2.5 Mach, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles can travel about 2.5 times the speed of sound. The American-made tactical bomber was designed for air superiority and long-range, high-speed bomb raids.
The supersonic bomber was put into service in 1976 and has remained mostly unchanged since that time. It's considered one of the most successful aircraft ever produced by the American military complex. And the success has not only been relegated to the United States. Countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea have all made purchases.
Mikoyan MiG-31 "Foxhound"
Another product of the Cold War, the MiG-31 "Foxhound" was an improvement over its predecessors by sacrificing speed but retaining maneuverability. But the plane is still one of the fastest in the world, capable of speeds up to 1900 mph, or 2.83 Mach.
Along with the "Foxhound's" speed capabilities, it was also one of the first aircraft to use radar systems to intercept stealth fighters. And with that came the ability of the Soviet Jet to fire long-range, air-to-air missiles -- a feat accomplished by only one other plane in the era.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 "Foxbat"
The MiG-25 "Foxbat" was the last plane ever designed by Mikhail Gurevich, the Soviet super-engineer who designed most of the Soviet Union's aircraft during the Cold War with his company, Mikoyan-Gurevich. The plane was one of the fastest in the world at the time, clocking in at 2190 mph, 3.2 Mach.
When the "Foxbat" arrived on the scene, NATO and U.S. military intelligence panicked at the site of the unbelievably fast and maneuverable jet. The militaries of both operations immediately sped up the designs and production of their own jets to match the Soviet's. The MiG-25 still remains one of the fastest jet planes continually produced.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Built by both the U.S. Air Force and NASA, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird holds the speed record for fastest air-breathing manned aircraft with a maximum speed of 2200 mph, Mach 3.3. Developed as a reconnaissance plane, the Blackbird's main objective is intelligence gathering.
The plane does not even carry any armaments and does not have the stealth capabilities of other aircraft in the U.S.A.'s arsenal. Instead, the response to surface-to-air missiles and other types of attacks is to simply speed up and outrun the weaponry, which the SR-71 is more than capable of doing.
North American X-15
The North American x-15 is described as hypersonic rather than supersonic, as it can exceed speed five times the speed of sound. It tops out at 4520 mph or 6.7 Mach and still holds the record for fastest manned aircraft with most other planes not even close.
The plane was built with a tail fin so large that it was unable to take off at low speeds and thus had to be dropped from another aircraft. The aircraft was mostly used for experimental flights before its retirement, but it set a benchmark of speed that has yet to be matched by any degree.