Aermacchi MB.326
The Aermacchi MB.326 series of aircraft has become one of the most successful blends of operational trainer and light attack capabilities. Developed during the Cold War in 1957, the Aermacchi-produced two-seat trainer was alr...

Aermacchi MB.339
The Aermacchi MB.339 was the successor to the Aermacchi MB.326 in the advanced trainer and light strike duty roles. This twin-seat trainer proved equally adept at either role and went on to also replace the Fiat G.91T trainer...

Aero A.11
The Aero A.11 was a highly successful multi-faceted performer for the Czech Army Air Force in the interwar years between World War One and World War Two. Equally respected for its adaptability and capability, the A.11 was des...

Aero L-29 Delfin (Dolphin) / Maya
The Czech designed and produced Aero L-29 Delfin (translating to “Dolphin”; NATO designation of “Maya”) series was a highly utilized Cold War jet trainer aircraft for the Soviet Union and its satellite states. The twin-seat a...

Aero L-39 Albatros (Albatross)
The L-39 series of advanced jet trainer and light strike aircraft followed along the same lines as its predecessor - the L-29 Delphin (detailed elsewhere on this site) - in terms of development. Designed actually just three y...

AIDC AT-3 Tzu-Chiang
The AIDC AT-3 series of advanced weapons trainer aircraft was the second design produced by the Aero Industry Development Center of Taiwan (in conjunction with the American firm of Northrop), succeeding the Chung Tsing T-28 T...

AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo
The F-CK-1 "Ching-Kuo" was an ambitious and indigenous multirole fighter design in the vein of the F-16 Fighting Falcon as undertaken by the island-nation of Taiwan in the early 1980's. A US-imposed embargo forced the Taiwane...

AMX International AMX (Ghibli)
The AMX International AMX is the result of cooperation between two Italian (Aeritalia - now Alenia - and Aermacchi) and one Brazilian (Embraer) aircraft firms. Development of the system began with just the two Italian compani...

Antonov An-2 (Colt)
The Antonov An-2 is a multi-role light utility biplane initially produced under the Soviet flag. Despite its 1940's pedigree, the system has continued service and operations throughout the world and production itself has tota...

Arado Ar 240
The Arado Ar 240 was designed to an RLM 1938 response to replace the twin engine, two seat Messerschmitt BF 110 Zerstorer heavy fighter, being made obsolete by the changing face of war. The Arado firm and the Messerschmitt fi...

Arado Ar TEW 16/43-19
With development of the advanced twin-engine, jet-powered Ar 234 "Blitz" bomber coming along, the Arado firm turned its attention to a more advanced jet aircraft with a multi-role capability in mind. The TEW 16/43-19 would ha...

Armstrong Whitworth Atlas
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Armstrong Whitworth FK.8
The Armstrong Whitworth FK.8 model series was an aircraft conceived of by aircraft designer Frederick Koolhoven of Dutch origins. The system turned out to be a most versatile platform used throughout the First World War and p...

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin (a siskin being a smallish yellow-tinged finch) was the primary air mount of many-a-Royal Air Force pilot in her heyday. She represented one of the earliest aircraft designs for the British in t...

Atlas (Denel) Cheetah
The Denel (formally Atlas) Cheetah came about through a need by the South African Air Force to update / replace its series of aging fighters while its bordering neighbors were receiving updated Soviet Bloc aircraft. Unfortuna...

Avions Fairey Fox
Avions Fairey was set up in Belgium as an offshoot of the Fairey Aviation Company of Britain. The production facility was initially created for the local production of the Fairey Firefly, to which the facilities were later us...

Avro Anson
The Avro Anson was a militarized version of the commercial passenger transport Avro 652. The Anson itself was produced to fulfill Specification 18/35 brought about by the British Air Ministry and originally intended for use a...

BAe Sea Harrier
The arrival of the land-based Hawker Siddeley Harrier revolutionized the British military approach upon its inception into RAF service in 1969. The system allowed for vertical take-offs and landings by providing the hovering ...

Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly / Destroyer (Model 28)
The XA-38 was a developmental twin-engine heavy fighter produced by the Beech Aircraft firm. By all accounts, she was a stable and fast aircraft comparable to even the single engine speedsters of her day. As promising as her ...

Blackburn / Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer
The Blackburn Buccaneer was a highly-respected low-level carrier-borne strike aircraft utilized by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. The Buccaneer featured a crew of two seated in tandem, an internal weapons bay to comp...

Blackburn Firebrand
The Blackburn Firebrand was a carried-based strike fighter aircraft developed by Blackburn Aircraft of the United Kingdom. She was a design of G.E. Petty and went on to live a troubled development before reaching operation st...

Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Northrop F/A-18 Hornet
The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based attack fighter currently in frontline service with a variety of forces worldwide. Derived from the failed YF-17 Cobra attempt at a new USAF lightweight fighter (the F-17 lost o...

Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Northrop F/A-18 Super Hornet
The Super Hornet is the latest, and most likely the ultimate, evolution in the F/A-18 Hornet series of precision strike aircraft covering carrierborne operations. Produced by a consortium of contractors that includes Boeing a...

Breguet Bre.14
French aviation design triumphed with the arrival of the Breguet Bre.14 series (sometimes written as Breguet Br.XIV). The aircraft proved to be of the utmost reliability and lethality upon entering the war front in 1916 and w...

Bristol F.2
The Bristol F.2 fighter series operated throughout the British Empire for decades, serving through World War 1 and through the interwar years. The system proved a viable fighter platform despite its origination as a reconnais...

Chengdu FC-1 Xiaolong / JF-17 Thunder
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Chengdu J-10 (Vigorous Dragon) / F-10 Vanguard
The Chengdu Jian-J10 (also "J-10" and "Annihilator" but known to the West as "Vigorous Dragon") was originally designed as an air-superiority fighter for China but was later revised to become an all-weather, day/night multiro...

Curtiss A-12 (Shrike)
The A-12 was an inter-war product of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company first appearing in 1933. The type became the first quantitative monoplane aircraft in service with the United States Army Air Corps upon its incepti...

Curtiss P-36 Hawk / Mohawk
The P-36 Hawk aircraft produced by Curtiss was a widely accepted and operated weapon system. From its initial appearance once can see the influence that the P-36 had in the design of the P-40 Warhawk of "Flying Tigers" fame. ...

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk
The P-40 Warhawk / Kittyhawk / Tomahawk series of aircraft was the further development of the P-36 Hawk platform (detailed elsewhere on this site). The Warhawk would become synonymous with the American Volunteer Group fightin...

Dassault Mirage F1
The Dassault Mirage F1 series was designed to replace the successful Dassault Mirage III series. With a host of new features added to this new aircraft, the Mirage F1 would be a substantial upgrade to the whole Mirage family ...

Dassault Mirage III
Though now outclassed by the latest in Next Generation aircraft, the Mirage III - for a time - was the best European fighter in operation. The delta-wing system, a design proving quite capable early pioneering developments, o...

Dassault Mirage V (5) / Mirage 50
The Dassault Mirage V / Mirage 50 series of French-built multi-role aircraft stands as the last further development of the successful Mirage III airframe. The Mirage V appeared in 1967 and was intended solely for export, find...

Dassault Mystere / Super Mystere
The Dassault-produced Mystere series of turbojet aircraft appeared just when the French nation was in the rebuilding stages following World War Two. The owner of Dassault, himself a captive of one of the many German concentra...

Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale, when released into operational service in the late 1990's, was the pinnacle of French aircraft engineering. The system incorporated the latest in fly-by-wire technology, composite materials and aerodynami...

Dassault Super Etendard (Standard)
The Dassault Super Etendard ("Standard") was a further development of the base Etendard platform that performed well in service with the French Navy. The system saw deliveries start from the late 1970's onward and by the end ...

Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000
The Mirage 2000 was developed as a replacement for previous versions of the Mirage airframe platform. This new version incorporated many design, engineering and production elements learned from the post-war years of aircraft ...

Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a multi-faceted performer for the German Luftwaffe that ended up fulfilling various roles from bomber to reconnaissance aircraft, aerial test bed to torpedo bomber. The twin-engine 4-man aircraft appear...

Dornier Do 228
The Dornier Do 228 appeared in the early 1980's and served as a utility transport and maritime patrol aircraft for several global military branches. The high-wing monoplane was a versatile and steady performer, powered by two...

Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow)
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (or "Arrow") was one of the more unique prop-driven designs of the Second World War. Designed and patented by Doctor Claudius Dornier as early as 1937, the Do 335 utilized a concept in which one engin...

Douglas A-1 Skyraider
The mammoth Skyraider series would have been a major player in the Second World War if it were designed and produced a few years earlier than it had. Regardless, the system would prove itself quite a capable close-support air...

Douglas A-26 / B-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a distinguished twin-engine light bomber whose origins were well-placed in the Second World War. The system proved adept at day and night flying, attacking targets with a bevy of machine guns or d...

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The A-4 Skyhawk (nicknamed "Heinemann's Hot Rod" and the "Scooter") came about as a private venture when the Douglas corporation was seeking to replace the aging AD Skyraider (A-1 Skyraider) piston-engine aircraft. The succes...

Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano / A-29
The EMB 314 "Super Tucano" (also "A-29") represents a locally-produced Brazilian aircraft product falling under the then-government run EMBRAER banner. The aircraft is a turboprop-powered light attack, reconnaissance and surv...

Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon program could be the call of the future in Europe in terms of how military programs progress. With the cost and production sharing between the nations of Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy (France was a...

Fiat Aeritalia G.91 (Gina)
The Fiat Aeritalia G.91 was an Italian Cold War-era, single-seat, jet-powered fighter design that saw an extended period of service with only a handful of operators throughout Europe. She was once envisioned to stock the inve...

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork)
The seemingly fragile Fieseler Fi 156 Storch(or "Stork") does not seem to have a home in a global conflict as World War 2 was yet the little machine became a spectacular multi-purpose airframe to which the Third Reich put to ...

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Wurger (Shrike)
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat fighter is held by some to be the best German piston fighter of the Second World War - and with good reason as the weapon system accounted for hundreds of Allied bomber and fighter losses thr...

General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon
The F-16 Fighting Falcon can officially go down as one of the most successful aircraft designs of the Cold War. The system was designed in a head-to-head competition with the Northrop YF-17 Cobra and successfully defeated it ...

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was purposely-designed as a variable geometry "swing wing" platform from the outset. The variable swing-wing philosophy would allow the aircraft to utilize three pre-determined geometric ...

Gloster / Armstrong Whitworth Meteor
The Gloster Meteor became Britain's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. It reached operational status in the latter years of World War 2 and saw limited action in the conflict though it never faced off against any...

Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was the first twin-engine delta-wing jet fighter design to take up service with any one air force. The system would also become the United Kingdoms first all-weather day or night fighter and the very final...

Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat-series of variable-geometry wing carrier-capable interceptors is one of the true living success stories of Cold War aircraft design. The system was popularized by the Hollywood motion picture "Top Gun"...

Grumman F6F Hellcat
The F6F Hellcat was the successor to - and a logical evolution of – the capable F4F Wildcat series of carrier-borne aircraft fielded by the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater of World War 2. In the conflict, the Hellca...

Grumman F9F Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther series saw extensive combat in the Korean War for the United States Navy, accounting for over 78,000 combat sorties. The system was primarily utilized as a close-support strike aircraft but could hold ...

HAL HF-24 Marut
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd HF-24 Marut was the first Indian attempt at an indigenous aircraft design since separating from British rule. The Marut - or "Spirit of the Tempest" - was the first design that was produced for t...

Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter was the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy jet fighter of choice for decades since its inception, becoming the longest serving British jet-powered fighter of her time. Outwardly, the Hunter was of a most convent...

Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was indeed the true star of Britain's march against the Third Reich. Often overshadowed by the sleeker and sexier Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane system evolved from the Hawker "Fury Monoplane" as it ...

Hawker Siddeley Harrier / AV-8A
The subsonic British Harrier "jump jet" became the world's first practical VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft after the perfection of its vectored thrust turbofan engine. While other aircraft manufacturers of the t...

Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest originally appeared as an improved Hawker Typhoon, the war-winning aircraft that effectively failed in its intended role as an interceptor but went on to star as a low-level fighter-bomber. The Tempest bega...

Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon (affectionate known as the "Tiffie") was initially intended as a dedicated interceptor and set to succeed the 1930's-era Hawker Hurricane and was first drawn up in 1937. The system was designed to a British...

Heinkel He 51
The He 51 was a product of the German Heinkel firm and a design of the Gunter twins, Walter and Siegfried. The Gunters became part of the Heinkel firm in 1931 and made the He 49 their first product with the company. The He 49...

HESA Saeqeh-80 (Thunderbolt)
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IAI Kfir / F-21A
The Kfir (translated to "Lion Cub") was a semi-indigenous Israeli fighter development designed to fulfill an IAF (Israeli Air Force) requirement for a ground strike fighter. While Israel had purchased and was awaiting deliver...

Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik
The Il-2 Sturmovik (or "Shturmovik") was designed as a low-level close-support aircraft capable of defeating enemy armor and other ground targets. Hardly the fighter, the system was exclusively engineered to take an enormous ...

Junkers CL.I
The Junkers CL.I was a break-through aircraft design produced in limited quantities in the final year of World War One. The system was an all-metal design proposed and accepted at a time when wood and fabric-constructed plane...

KAI / Lockheed Martin T-50 / TA-50 / FA-50 Golden Eagle
The T-50 / A-50 "Golden Eagle" is an advanced supersonic trainer and light strike-capable aircraft platform produced jointly by the South Korean firm of Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) and the American firm of Lockheed Mart...

Kyushu K11W Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum)
Oft-forgotten, but no less important to the Japanese war effort of World War 2, was the Kyushu K11W Shiragiku ("White Chrysanthemum") advanced bomber crew trainer. The aircraft served as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...

Lockheed F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter development of the United States that incorporates new and learned stealth technology and practices with advanced computer processing and systems through a "budget-...

Lockheed Martin / Boeing F-22 Raptor
The F-22 Raptor series of aircraft reportedly represents the most advanced aircraft design in the world to date. The system utilizes technology, design and experience to field a system that is designed to be the most potent f...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning (often called the "Fork-Tailed Devil" from the German perspective) was the brainchild of aviation engineer Kelly Johnson. The name "Lightning" itself is believed to be derived from the designation ...

Lockheed P-80 / F-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star is undoubtedly the world's most successful first generation jet-powered fighter. Appearing by the last few months of World War 2, the Shooting Star failed to undertake a single combat sort...

Macchi MC.200 Saetta (Lightning)
The Macchi M.C.200 Saetta (or "Lightning") was the main production fighter in the Italian military when Italy entered the Second World War. Overall, a most basic of fighter designs, armed with 2 x 12.7mm machine guns and dece...

McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) / BAe Systems AV-8B Harrier II
While the original Hawker Siddeley Harrier proved revolutionary for its time, and the follow-up BAe Systems Sea Harrier bettered the type's original design with the inclusion of radar and improvements in out-of-the-cockpit vi...

McDonnell Douglas / Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle
The F-15E "Strike Eagle" is a dual-role version of the highly successful base F-15 air superiority fighter. The Strike Eagle is intended to fulfill both roles of air-to-air superiority and ground strike with the capability to...

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
Arguably one of the finest combat fighters of the 20th Century, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II series was produced in larger numbers since the end of World War 2 than any other Western fighter of the time. The Phantom II grew i...

Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the quintessential fighter for the Third Reich throughout the Second World War. Clandestine German involvement in the Spanish Civil War allowed Bf 109 pilots to develop tactics and responses that ...

Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (Destroyer)
The twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer (or "Destroyer" or even "Heavy Fighter" in some sources) was initially designed to meet a German specification for a "high-speed bomber and heavy fighter". The result was the les...

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow)
The Me 262 Schwalbe (or "Swallow") is a good case study in the "what if" category centering around poor production design and the bureaucracy inherent in a dictatorship like that of the Third Reich. With the unrealized capabi...

Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet)
The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet") was, in effect, a further development of the unstable Me 210 system. Though improved to some extent by the Hungarians in the Me 210C model, the Me 410 was fitted with a new designa...

Mikoyan MiG-27 (Flogger)
The Mikoyan MiG-27 "Flogger" was derived from the successful MiG-23 "Flogger" interceptor and made into a dedicated ground attack aircraft. The swing-wing capabilities of the original Flogger lent itself well to the low-level...

Mikoyan MiG-29 (Fulcrum)
The Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum was and continues to be a highly prized and respected multirole fighter in service with Russia and a plethora of countries worldwide. The system has proven very robust, flexible and highly maneuvera...

Mikoyan MiG-35 (Fulcrum-F)
The Mikoyan MiG-35 is the latest incarnation of the successful light-weight MiG-29 Fulcrum series. With an increase to its MTOW as much as 30 percent, the MiG-35 is now considered in the medum weight class. The aircraft is co...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 1.44 (Flatpack)
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (Fresco) / Chengdu J-5
As impressive as the later versions of the MiG-15 fighter were (detailed elsewhere on this site), the MiG-17 "Fresco" was a vastly improved development based on lessons learned in the formers design. With the MiG-15 represent...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Fishbed)
The MiG-21 was undoubtedly the most successful Cold War fighter in terms of reach, operating in over 50 air forces around the globe and seeing production well past the 10,000 example mark. The aircraft was developed with less...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger)
The Mach 2-capable MiG-23 "Flogger" became the first "swing-wing" fighter to enter service with the Soviet Union and went on to become a primary mount of the Soviet air services (replacing the range-limited MiG-21 "Fishbed") ...

Mitsubishi F-1
The Mitsubishi F-1 fighter aircraft was a milestone design for the small island country as it represented the nations first all-Japanese design and produced fighter since the closing days of World War 2. Based highly on the e...

Mitsubishi F-2
The Mitsubishi F-2 fighter was initially to be a completely indigenous Japanese design, looking to replace their aging fleet of F-1's. With design work already underway, the United States stepped in with a considerable amount...

North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was developed as the successor to the F-86 Sabre, another North American product. The F-86 Sabre proved a war winner for the Americans in the Korean War, tangling with the likes of the new...

North American F-82 / P-82 Twin Mustang
The F-82 Twin Mustang was a purposely-designed aircraft charged with the purpose of providing the United States Air Force with a potent long-range fighter escort while allowing the pilot a much needed break with the addition ...

North American P-51 / F-51 Mustang
The North American P-51 Mustang proved an invaluable addition to the Allied cause in the latter half of World War 2. The system was designed and flown in a matter of months and made such an impact that it could clearly be con...

North American YF-107 Ultra Sabre
The YF-107 "Ultra Sabre" prototype represented the final foray into military aviation for the North American Aircraft Corporation. The company that was responsible for such memorable airframes as seen embodied by the P-51 Mus...

Northrop F-20 Tigershark
The F-20 Tigershark appeared on August 30th, 1982, as an "improved" version of the F-5E model in the Tiger II series. Visually, the F-20 shared many of the same qualities as the F-5 including its low-mounted monoplane wings, ...

Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter / F-5 Tiger II
The Northrop-produced F-5 Tiger series was intended as a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative for Allies of the United States during the Cold War years. The initial model was the F-5 "Freedom Fighter", which in turn spawned ...

Northrop Grumman YF-23 Black Widow II
The YF-23 Black Widow II was Northrop Grumman's (along with McDonnell Douglas Corporation) answer to the American ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter challenge as proposed by the US Air Force. The YF-23 faced off directly with the...

Northrop YF-17 (Cobra)
The YF-17 Cobra was a Northrop Aviation creation through NASA to support further testing and research of aircraft at transonic speeds (meaning just underneath the speed of sound, or 700-780mph / 1,127-1,255kph). The YF-17 Cob...

Novi Avion
The Novi Avion ("New Aircraft") was a Yugoslavian effort to produce a home-grown supersonic multi-role aircraft on par with the global 4th Generation fighters of the time. It shared many similarities with the French-based Das...

Panavia Tornado GR.1
The Panavia Tornado GR.1 (or GR.Mk 1) is a slightly differing variant of the Tornado IDS base model. The Tornado is produced by an international consortium of European countries that include Germany and Italy all of which ope...

Panavia Tornado IDS / ECR
The Panavia Tornado was produced from a consortium of companies in the UK, Germany and Italy. The weapon system was designed from the beginning to operate from extremely short or battle-damaged runways, with the assumption be...

Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief was a Cold War product of the Republic Aviation Corporation and became the company's last production aircraft before its merger with Fairchild. The platform was developed as a successor to the F-84 seri...

Republic F-84 Thunderjet / Thunderstreak / Thunderflash
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet appeared as an American post-war design and played a pivotal role in the early years that was the Cold War. The nimble little system provided many an Allied nation with a nuclear-capable deterrent...

Republic P-47 / F-47 Thunderbolt
While much of the romance of World War 2 dogfighting often heads in the direction of the USAAF's North American P-51 Mustang or the Vought F4U Corsair, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (affectionately nicknamed "the Jug" by her ...

Saab J 35 Draken (Dragon / Kite)
The Saab J 35 Draken (translated in English to "Dragon" but carrying the meaning of "Kite" based on the aircraft's angular resemblance to a kite) was one of the more excellent aircraft designs to emerge from the Cold War. The...

Saab JA 37 Viggen (Thunderbolt)
The Saab Viggen proved to be yet another milestone in the indigenous design theories put forth by the nation of Sweden. The system was designed from the outset to be a battlefield friendly alternative to its opponent counterp...

Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin)
As with all of Sweden's locally-produced military hardware, the JAS 39 Gripen is no exception to the attention paid to the needs of the nation's military. Regarded as the first of the Fourth Generation series of fighters anyw...

SEPECAT Jaguar
The Jaguar became the first ever international aircraft joint development product when Britain and France expressed interest in a similar multi-role supersonic performer. The British were in the market for an advanced jet tra...

Shenyang J-8 / J-8 II (Finback)
The Shenyang J-8 series (NATO codename of "Finback") was an indigenous Chinese multi-role fighter design appearing in 1980. As China was already in the habit of purchasing Soviet equipment during the Cold War years, it was on...

Sud-Ouest SO 4050 Vautour
These limited-production aircraft served with little distinction in French hands but were better served as night fighters and attack aircraft by the Israeli Air Force in later years. The aircraft is oft-noted for its design s...

Sukhoi PAK FA
The PAK FA (or "PAK[FA]")is currently in development with Sukhoi OKB, a Russian aircraft firm receiving its origins during the dark days of World War 2 and contributing many designs to the Soviet Air Force and Army in the Col...

Sukhoi Su-17 / Su-20 / Su-22 (Fitter)
The Mach 2-capable Sukhoi Su-17 "Fitter" was a further development of the successful Su-7 "Fitter-A" fighter/fighter-bomber family line detailed elsewhere on this site. The aircraft incorporated a partial variable geometry wi...

Sukhoi Su-20 (Fitter-C)
The Su-20 was nothing more than the export version of the Su-17M / S-32M "Fitter-C" series of swing-wing aircraft which, itself, was a derivative of the fixed-wing Su-7 "Fitter-A" fighter. The Su-20 is fielded with ranging ra...

Sukhoi Su-27 (Flanker)
The Su-27 "Flanker" series of aircraft is regarded by most airplane aficionados as the ultimate in Russian fighter design. The Su-27 first appeared in the middle of the 1980's, completely taking NATO and American warplanners ...

Sukhoi Su-30 (Flanker-C)
The Sukhoi Su-30 (NATO codename of "Flanker-C") is an air superiority and strike fighter version of the Su-27 "Flanker" series. The aircraft is essentially a multi-role aircraft based on the Su-27PU two-seat, long range inter...

Sukhoi Su-33 (Flanker-D)
The Su-33 (NATO designation of "Flanker-D") represents the naval equivalent to the land-based Russian-produced Su-27 Flanker series of air superiority aircraft, which in itself was produced to rival the American F-15 during t...

Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback)
The Su-34 (NATO reporting name of "Fullback") is a dedicated two-seat fighter-bomber/strike fighter version of the successful Su-27 "Flanker" fighter series. The aircraft is a product of the Sukhoi Design Bureau that has alre...

Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E / Super Flanker)
The Su-35 (and similar Su-37) is known as the "Super Flanker" (NATO reporting codename of "Flanker-E"). The Su-35 is based on the Su-27 Flanker air-superiority fighter developed in the 1980's with the Su-35 representing a "mo...

Sukhoi Su-47 (S-32 / S-37) Berkut (Golden Eagle)
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Sukhoi Su-7 (Fitter-A)
The Sukhoi Su-7 (NATO codename of "Fitter-A") was a single-seat, single engine jet-powered fighter in service with the Soviet Air Force (Frontal Aviation) throughout the 1960s. It was a nuclear-capable aircraft that went on t...

Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U Corsair series of aircraft was one of the finer fighter developments of the Second World War, primarily seeing combat in the Pacific Theater of War. The uniquely designed bent-wings and ever-improving powerplant assur...

Vought F-8 Crusader
The Vought-produced F-8 Crusader was a direct response to a Navy need for a supersonic carrier-based fighter platform. Utilizing nearly the identical powerplant of the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-8 Crusader became the world's fi...

Westland Whirlwind
The Westland Whirlwind was a most capable design that might have seen even better service numbers were it not for the choice of engines. Originally slated to utilize the Rolls-Royce brand Merlin engines, the Whirlwind platfor...

Yakovlev Yak-38 (Forger)
The Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger became the first (and last) VTOL service aircraft for the Soviet Union / Russian Federation. Attempting to fulfill the same role as did the British Aerospace Harrier VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Land...

Yakovlev Yak-9 (Frank)
In line with other classic wartime fighters of World War 2, the Yakovlev-produced Yak-9 was another excellent piston-engine addition to the family line. Initially conceived from a developmental version of the Yak-7 that featu...