Military Aircraft

The light jet trainer built for intermediate military instruction.

The Avro Vulcan was Britain's delta-wing nuclear bomber. Its history, Black Buck raid, the Vulcan howl, why it stopped flying and where survivors are.

The advanced jet trainer built for military pilot development.

The maritime patrol aircraft built to replace aging fleets but canceled before service.

The B-17 Flying Fortress: 12,731 built, a crew of 10 and 13 machine guns. See its history, variants, how it flew and the three B-17s still airworthy.

The B-52 Stratofortress explained: 8 engines, 70,000 lb payload, 8,810-mile range, why 76 remain in service, and the F130 re-engining to the B-52J.

The Boeing E-3 Sentry is the 707-based AWACS with a 30-foot radar dome. E-3D specs, variants, crew, losses and what is replacing it in 2026.

The airborne command aircraft built for strategic communications.

The Boeing F-47 is the Air Force's sixth-generation NGAD fighter and F-22 successor. Here is what is public: the contract, 2028 first flight and the unknowns.

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is a 737-800 rebuilt to hunt submarines: 129 sonobuoys, Mk 54 torpedoes, a nine-person crew. Specs, cost and fleet size.

The Boeing X-32 was Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator that lost to the X-35. How it flew, why it lost, its specs and where both aircraft are now.

The airborne laser aircraft built to test missile defense concepts.

The lightweight fighter built for export multirole capability.

The B-58 Hustler was the first Mach 2 bomber: 116 built, a fifth of them lost in crashes, retired after just ten years, and eight left today.

The twinjet trainer and light attack aircraft built for versatile service.

The A-3 Skywarrior was the Navy's carrier-launched nuclear bomber, nicknamed the Whale. Its history, variants, no-ejection-seat design and survivors.

The B-66 Destroyer was the USAF's Skywarrior spin-off: 294 built, from reconnaissance to Vietnam radar jamming. Variants, losses and survivors.

The maritime patrol aircraft built to deliver modern anti-submarine capability.

The regional jet transformed into an airborne command center

Twin-engine piston power

Bomber trainer

The electronic warfare aircraft built to suppress enemy radar defenses.

The forward-swept wing demonstrator built to explore advanced aerodynamics.

The supersonic trainer built to prepare pilots for modern fighter aircraft.

The maritime patrol jet built for modern anti-submarine operations.

The EA-37B Compass Call is the US Air Force's Gulfstream G550 electronic-attack jet replacing the EC-130H. Specs, range, crew, cost and deployments.

The Lockheed A-12 Oxcart was the CIA's single-seat Mach 3 spy plane. How it differed from the SR-71, what it flew over Vietnam, and why it retired in 1968.

The AC-130 is a C-130 Hercules rebuilt as a side-firing gunship. See its weapons, how the pylon turn works and why only the AC-130J Ghostrider remains.

The stealth attack aircraft built for precision night operations.

The SR-72 is Lockheed Martin's proposed Mach 6 successor to the SR-71. See what has been claimed, what has been built and why nothing has flown.

The Lockheed Martin X-59 is NASA's quiet supersonic X-plane. It first flew in October 2025 and aims to turn the sonic boom into a soft thump.

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird flew at Mach 3.3 and 85,000 ft. Its specs explained, speed records, how many were built and lost, and why it retired.

The Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady flies above 70,000 ft on a 103 ft wing. Specs, Cold War history, why it is so hard to fly, and the fight to retire it.

The Martin B-57 Canberra was a British bomber built under license in Baltimore. Its specs explained, its Vietnam record, and the NASA WB-57s still flying.

The aeromedical transport built to support military medical evacuation missions.

The carrier-capable fighter built for naval operations.

The upgraded Fulcrum built for expanded multirole capability.

The experimental fighter built to explore Russia’s fifth-generation ambitions.

The jet trainer built for post-Soviet pilot training modernization.

XB-70 Valkyrie facts: the six-engine Mach 3.1 bomber prototype, why it was canceled, the 1966 mid-air crash, and where the last one is today.

The B-45 Tornado was the first U.S. production jet bomber: four engines, a straight wing, nuclear capability and secret flights over the Soviet Union.

The North American X-15 rocket plane hit Mach 6.7 and flew above 67 miles. Learn how it launched, who flew it, and what happened on Flight 191.

The Northrop B-2 Spirit is a flying-wing stealth bomber with a 172-foot wingspan, 6,000-nautical-mile range, and a price near $2 billion each.

The B-21 Raider is Northrop Grumman's sixth-generation stealth bomber. It first flew in 2023, costs about $692 million each, and reaches Ellsworth in 2027.

The battlefield surveillance aircraft built for wide-area ground tracking.

The EA-6B Prowler jammed enemy radar for the US Navy and Marines from 1971 to 2019. Its four-seat crew, 170 built, combat record, and what replaced it.

The twinjet trainer built for multi-engine and tanker pilot training.

The B-1 Lancer is a supersonic swing-wing heavy bomber with the largest conventional payload in the US Air Force: Mach 1.25, 75,000 lb, crew of 4.

The twin-boom aircraft built for observation and close support.

The Saab Gripen is Sweden's light single-engine fighter, built to fly from roadside bases. Specs, history, cost, combat record and the Gripen E.

Strategic bomber introduced in 1954

Tu-160 Blackjack specs, speed and fleet size: the 606,000 lb bomber that tops Mach 2, the records it holds, and how many Russia still flies today.

First among the V-bombers

The Xi'an H-20 is China's secretive stealth bomber, unconfirmed after a decade in development. What the Pentagon estimates, and what's still unknown.

The Xian H-6 is China's licence-built Tu-16 Badger. See how it became the H-6K and H-6N, what the HY-6 tanker is, and how many are in service.