British Fighter Jets: What the RAF Flies in 2026, and the Best It Ever Flew

The UK flies two front-line fighter jets in 2026: the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 and the F-35B Lightning. The Typhoon is the backbone, with 124 on the books, and the stealthy F-35B is the most advanced, with 47 shared between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.

Behind them sits the BAE Hawk, the jet trainer that feeds pilots into both fleets and carries the Red Arrows. Ahead of them is GCAP, the sixth-generation fighter Britain is building with Italy and Japan for 2035.

This guide covers that current fleet with official Ministry of Defence numbers, then the eight best British jet fighters in history, from the Gloster Meteor to the Tornado.

Aircraft	Role	In UK service	Fleet (1 April 2026)
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4	Multirole fighter	2003 to present	124 held, 111 in service
F-35B Lightning	Stealth multirole, carrier-capable	2018 to present	47 held, 47 in service
BAE Hawk T2	Advanced jet trainer	In service	28 held
BAE Hawk T1	Trainer, Red Arrows	Due out March 2030	24 held, 18 in service
GCAP (Tempest)	Sixth-generation fighter	Target 2035	In development

Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4: Britain’s main fighter jet

The Eurofighter Typhoon has flown with the RAF since 2003 and is the most common aircraft in the British combat fleet. The Ministry of Defence counted 124 on 1 April 2026, 111 of them in service.

It is a twin-engine multirole jet that handles both air combat and ground attack. The RAF lists two Eurojet EJ200 engines, a top speed of Mach 1.6, and a ceiling of 55,000 feet (16,800 m).

The Typhoon’s daily job is Quick Reaction Alert: jets on standby to intercept unidentified aircraft approaching UK airspace and the Falkland Islands. It first saw combat over Libya in 2011.

The fleet has shrunk and is being modernized at the same time. The RAF retired its early Tranche 1 Typhoons on 31 March 2025, keeping only four in the Falklands, and those four are due to be swapped for newer Tranche 2 jets in late 2027.

The newer jets are getting a new radar. In January 2026 the RAF announced a £453 million investment that includes 40 European Common Radar System Mk2 radars for the fleet.

F-35B Lightning: the UK’s most advanced fighter jet

The F-35B Lightning is the UK’s only stealth fighter and its only fifth-generation jet. It is the short takeoff and vertical landing version of the American F-35, which lets it fly from the Royal Navy’s two carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

It is also the one British fighter flown by two services. 617 Squadron, the first front-line Lightning squadron, re-formed in 2018 with both RAF and Royal Navy personnel, and 809 Naval Air Squadron and the 207 Squadron training unit fly it too.

The first two F-35Bs landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth on 25 September 2018. In 2025 the carrier strike group sailed on Operation Highmast, an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific with up to 26 jets embarked at points.

The UK accepted its 48th and final F-35B from the first order in March 2026. The Ministry of Defence counted 47 in April, since one was lost in a 2021 accident at sea.

More are coming, and a second variant with them. In June 2025 the government said it would buy 12 conventional-takeoff F-35As to join NATO’s nuclear mission from RAF Marham, alongside 15 more F-35Bs, with 2033 as the target. As of August 2026 that batch of 27 jets had still not been ordered.

The RAF lists a top speed of Mach 1.6 and a ceiling of 50,000 feet (15,200 m), slower than some older jets, because the F-35B was designed around stealth and sensors instead. See how it compares in our ranking of the stealth fighter jets flying today.

BAE Hawk T2 and T1: the trainer and the Red Arrows

The BAE Hawk is not a front-line fighter, but every British fast-jet pilot flies it first. The UK holds 28 Hawk T2s, the advanced trainer that IV Squadron flies at RAF Valley in Wales, including for the first F-35 pilots trained from scratch.

The older Hawk T1 is best known as the jet of the Red Arrows, who switched to it in late 1979 and flew their first Hawk season in 1980. The Ministry of Defence held 24 Hawk T1s in April 2026, 18 of them in service.

Both versions are nearing the end. The government says the Red Arrows’ Hawk T1s leave service in March 2030, and a new Jet Training System will replace the Hawk T2 ahead of the pilot training contract renewal due in 2033.

No replacement type has been announced. The fleet also had a setback in September 2026, when a Hawk crashed near RAF Valley and both crew ejected.

GCAP (Tempest): the next British fighter jet

The Typhoon’s successor is the Global Combat Air Programme, a sixth-generation fighter commonly called Tempest in the UK. Britain, Italy and Japan signed the agreement to build it together in December 2022.

The UK did early exploratory work with Sweden, but Sweden never became a formal partner. The industrial work is now run by Edgewing, a joint venture launched in June 2025 by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement, each holding a third.

The target is still entry into service in 2035, with a demonstrator due to fly in 2027. Edgewing won its first contract, worth £686 million, in April 2026, and the GCAP engine demonstrator is heading toward ground testing.

GCAP is one of a handful of programs racing toward the next generation, and our guide to sixth-generation fighter jets covers how it stacks up against its rivals.

How many fighter jets does the UK have?

The UK had 171 front-line fighter jets on 1 April 2026: 124 Typhoons and 47 F-35Bs. Of those, 158 were listed as in service.

Add the 52 Hawk T1 and T2 trainers and the fast-jet fleet reaches 223 aircraft. That is small next to the United States, whose fleet is covered in our list of the best American fighter jets, but every one of the UK’s front-line jets is a 2000s-era Typhoon or a stealthy F-35B.

The best British fighter jets in history

Britain flew one of the first operational jet fighters and set several world airspeed records in the 1940s and 1950s. It also built the first operational jump jet, and its naval version won the air war over the Falklands.

These are the eight British jet fighters that mattered most, in the order they entered service.

Aircraft	Key date	Built	Claim to fame
Gloster Meteor	First flew 1943	3,947	Only Allied jet in combat in WWII
de Havilland Vampire	First flew 1943	Almost 3,300	First pure-jet carrier landing
Hawker Hunter	First flew 1951	1,972	727.63 mph world airspeed record
English Electric Lightning	RAF service 1960	337	First British aircraft to reach Mach 2
Hawker Siddeley Harrier	RAF service 1969	278 (first generation)	First operational jump jet
SEPECAT Jaguar	First flew 1968	573	No losses in the 1991 Gulf War
Panavia Tornado	First flew 1974	990	60 RAF GR1s in the 1991 Gulf War
BAe Sea Harrier	Falklands War 1982	98	About 20 kills, no air-to-air losses

Gloster Meteor: Britain’s first jet fighter

The Meteor first flew on 5 March 1943 and entered service with No. 616 Squadron in July 1944. It went straight to work against German V-1 flying bombs, making its first two kills on 4 August and 14 by the end of the war.

The RAF Museum calls it the only Allied jet to see combat in World War Two. It was also fast: a Meteor set the first official jet airspeed record of 606 mph (975 km/h) in 1945, and another raised it to 616 mph (991 km/h) in 1946.

Some 3,947 were built, more than any other British jet fighter on this list. The Meteor bridged the gap between the propeller fighters in our guide to British fighter planes of WW2 and the jet age.

de Havilland Vampire: the first jet on a carrier

The Vampire flew on 20 September 1943, just months after the Meteor, but arrived too late for the war. Only the Meteor saw combat in the war, so the Vampire made its name afterward, and almost 3,300 were built, a quarter of them under license abroad.

Its lasting record came at sea. On 3 December 1945, test pilot Eric “Winkle” Brown flew a Sea Vampire onto HMS Ocean, the first time a pure-jet aircraft landed on and took off from an aircraft carrier.

Hawker Hunter: the record-breaker

The Hawker Hunter first flew on 20 July 1951 with test pilot Neville Duke at the controls. Two years later, on 7 September 1953, Duke flew a Hunter to a world airspeed record of 727.63 mph (1,171 km/h).

Some 1,972 were built, and the Hunter outlasted its era by decades. Privately operated Hunters still fly today with civilian contractors.

The Hunter’s most famous flight was unofficial. On 5 April 1968, Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock flew a Hunter FGA.9 low over several London landmarks and then through the span of Tower Bridge, all without authorization.

English Electric Lightning: Britain’s Mach 2 interceptor

The Lightning was an interceptor built above all for speed and climb. A development prototype became the first British aircraft to reach Mach 2 on 25 November 1958, and the RAF Museum describes it as the RAF’s first truly supersonic aircraft.

Its climb was the stuff of legend: it could reach 36,000 feet (11,000 m) in under three minutes. It entered front-line service with 74 Squadron in July 1960 and guarded British airspace until the last Lightning interceptor was retired on 30 April 1988.

Only 337 Lightnings were built. To see how its speed compares with today’s jets, read our ranking of the fastest fighter jets in the world.

Hawker Siddeley Harrier: the first jump jet

The Harrier entered RAF service in April 1969 as the first operational jet fighter able to take off and land vertically. That freed it from long runways, which an enemy could target in the first hours of a war.

Britain and McDonnell Douglas later developed the larger Harrier II. Its last RAF version, the Harrier GR9, made its final flights on 15 December 2010, after the October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review ordered its retirement.

The Harrier’s short takeoff and vertical landing idea did not die with it. The F-35B uses the same basic trick, which is why it can fly from Britain’s carriers today.

SEPECAT Jaguar: the Anglo-French striker

The Jaguar was a joint British and French design that first flew on 8 September 1968. Some 573 were produced for Britain, France and export customers.

Its best moment came in the 1991 Gulf War, when a detachment of 12 RAF Jaguars flew 612 combat sorties without losing an aircraft. The French side of the story is in our list of the best French fighter jets.

The RAF retired the Jaguar on 30 April 2007.

Panavia Tornado: the RAF’s strike workhorse

The Tornado was built by Britain, Germany and Italy together and first flew on 14 August 1974. Some 990 were produced in strike, air defense and electronic warfare versions.

Its first live operations came in the 1991 Gulf War, when 60 RAF Tornado GR1s deployed to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Tornado F3 fighter version guarded UK airspace until March 2011.

The GR4 strike version kept flying on operations until early 2019, and the RAF retired it at the end of that March.

BAe Sea Harrier: the Falklands fighter

The Sea Harrier was the Royal Navy’s version of the jump jet. In the 1982 Falklands War it flew from the carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible.

Sea Harrier squadrons shot down about 20 Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat without losing one in the air. Six were lost in total, two to ground fire and four to accidents, and the Navy Wings heritage charity puts the kill count at 23.

Only 98 were built. The Royal Navy withdrew its last Sea Harrier on 31 March 2006, and the Indian Navy retired its fleet in 2016.

Near misses: the Gnat and the Swift

The Folland Gnat was a tiny jet that served the RAF mainly as a trainer and flew with the Red Arrows from 1965 until 1979. In Indian Air Force hands it fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars, where it earned the nickname “Sabre Slayer.”

The Supermarine Swift set a world airspeed record in 1953, but only 197 were built. Neither changed British air power the way the eight above did, which is where the Hunter, the Lightning and the rest earn their places among the best fighter jets in the world.

FAQ

What is Britain's main fighter jet?

The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 is Britain’s main fighter jet. The Ministry of Defence held 124 on 1 April 2026, 111 of them in service, and the Typhoon flies the Quick Reaction Alert mission that intercepts unidentified aircraft near UK airspace and the Falkland Islands.

How many fighter jets does the UK have?

The UK had 171 fighter jets on 1 April 2026: 124 Eurofighter Typhoons and 47 F-35B Lightnings, according to the Ministry of Defence. Of those, 158 were in service. The figure rises to 223 if you add the 52 Hawk T1 and T2 jet trainers.

What is the UK's most advanced fighter jet?

The F-35B Lightning is the UK’s most advanced fighter jet and its only stealth fighter. The RAF and Royal Navy fly it jointly, including from the carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, and it scored its first kills in March 2026 when RAF F-35Bs shot down drones over Jordan.

Does the UK fly the F-35A?

Not yet. In June 2025 the government announced it would buy 12 F-35As to join NATO’s nuclear mission from RAF Marham, together with 15 more F-35Bs, with 2033 as the target. As of September 2026 that second tranche had not been ordered.

When will the Tempest fighter enter service?

The target is 2035. Tempest is the common UK name for the Global Combat Air Programme fighter that Britain, Italy and Japan agreed to build together in December 2022, and a demonstrator aircraft is due to fly in 2027.

What jets do the Red Arrows fly?

The Red Arrows fly the BAE Hawk T1, which they have used since the 1980 season after flying the Folland Gnat from 1965. The government says the team’s Hawk T1s are due out of service in March 2030.

What was the first British jet fighter?

The Gloster Meteor was Britain’s first jet fighter. It first flew on 5 March 1943, entered service with No. 616 Squadron in July 1944, and was the only Allied jet to see combat in the Second World War.

Does the UK still fly the Harrier?

No. The RAF’s last Harrier GR9s made their final flights on 15 December 2010, and the Royal Navy retired its Sea Harriers in March 2006. The F-35B now fills the short takeoff and vertical landing role.