Military Fighter Aircraft

Commonly called fighter aircraft or fighter jets; these fixed wing aircraft can be interceptors, bombers or reconnaissance aircraft with an electronic warfare role. Some modern fighter jets are what is called multirole aircraft. Military fast jets typically have one or two seats and often operate in a two-fighter team, with a lead and a wingman. It is their speed and versatility that distinguish a fighter from other types of military aircraft, such as transport planes or dedicated reconnaissance platforms.

Wisconsin ANG's final 'Badgers' F-16C departs Dane County

The departure of USAF F-16C Fighting Falcon from Dane County Regional Airport, Madison-Truax Field, Wisconsin, on October 5 marked the end of F-16 operations by the Wisconsin ANG’s 115th Fighter Wing/176th Fighter Squadron ‘Badgers’ after three decades flying the type

Feature Premium

ARMY-2022: Russia showcases secretive new weapons away from Western eyes

Despite the pressures caused by the war in Ukraine, the eighth International Military-Technical Forum ‘ARMY-2022’ showcased the latest from Russia’s military industry. AirForces Monthly gained exclusive access

News Premium

First ex-USAF F-16C for US Navy’s ‘Fighting Saints’

The first of the former USAF/ANG Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcons to enter service with the US Navy’s Fighter Squadron Composite 13 (VFC-13) ‘Fighting Saints’ was seen at NAS Fallon, Nevada, earlier this month

News Premium

New F-35C CAG-bird for USMC's VMFA-314

The new CAG-bird for the USMC’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) ‘Black Knights’ has been spotted during a deployment to NAS Fallon in Nevada

Feature Premium

How sophisticated is Russia's air defence network?

Fighter operations and ground-based air defences have so far proved to be among Russia’s few victories in its otherwise poorly planned and mismanaged campaign in Ukraine. AirForces Monthly explains

Dutch MOD progressing with plan to reopen De Peel Air Base for F-35 ops

Plans to reopen De Peel Air Base for F-35A Lightning II operations from 2024 continue to make progress as the Dutch MOD strives to find room to expand its operational footprint following earlier base closures amidst the continued deterioration of the global security situation

More than 50 F-35As now in Australian service

A further four Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighters have been delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force, bringing the total number in service to 54 aircraft out of 72 on order

News Premium

Russia has lost more than 10% of its Su-34 Fullback fleet in Ukraine ops

After conducting independent research, Key.Aero can confirm that the Russian Aerospace Forces has now lost more than 10% of its Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback fighter-bomber fleet in combat operations over Ukraine

StormBreaker steps closer to F-35 integration after recent test

Integration of the GBU-53/B StormBreaker air-launched, precision-guided glide bomb on the F-35 Lightning II has moved a step closer after the US Navy, in partnership with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, recently carried out two successful guided test vehicle releases

Two more Gripens delivered to Brazil

A further two Saab F-39E Gripens have been delivered to Brazil, where they will join the Brazilian Air Force's growing fleet

Fighter aircraft were not the first heavier-than-air military aircraft. During the First World War bi-planes with a pilot and a crew member would carry out. Guns were soon added to these aircraft and the fighters were born; the term dogfight became synonymous with the new form of aerial combat. These aircraft would also crudely drop bombs with a crew member simply throwing the bombs out of the aircraft. After the First World War, fighter development led to the single wing, enclosed cockpit, propeller powered aircraft such as the RAF Hawker Hurricane, Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the United States Army Airforce North American Aviation P-51 Mustang. After the war, the RAF Gloster Meteor was the RAF’s first operational jet fighter and it was rapidly joined by fast jets from France, Russia and the USA.

Today, the roles of military fast jets have hardly changed, from intercepting other fast jets fighters or bombers, to maintaining air superiority, they are bombing air defences and photographing bombed sites for battle damage assessment as well as escorting slower, more vulnerable aircraft.

Different Types of Fighter Planes

From the first aerial reconnaissance aircraft, the Wright brothers military flyer, or Model A, sold to the US military in 1909, it took 45 years until the United States Airforce’s North American F-100 Super Sabre became the world’s first operational supersonic fighter in 1954. There has been a huge amount of technological development between the Super Sabre and the world’s first operational fifth generation fighter, the United States Marine Corp’s Lockheed Martin F-35B/C Lightning II, which entered service in 2015. All fixed wing aircraft, since the advent of jet fighters in World War Two, have been a variety of designs to meet the military’s changing needs. Jet engines were in development before World War Two, but it was only near the end of that war that the first operational fast jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262, took to the skies.

Fighters steadily developed to fly higher and faster, carry more payloads, both missiles and bombs, and became supersonic. The need for greater speed saw the delta wing shape for supersonic flight, air-to-air missiles were used in the Korean War for the first time, and it was only later that fighters were equipped with radar, allowing for longer range interception. The 1960s saw the development of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability with the Royal Navy’s Hawker Siddeley Harrier, which is still in service with the Indian military. Propeller powered fighter aircraft did not end with the flights of the Gloster Meteor and the 1950s saw experiments with VTOL propeller powered aircraft that sat on their tails in a vertical position.

Since the 1980s fast jets have become stealthy, first with the now retired Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk which was primarily a bomber, to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, an interceptor, and the multirole Lockheed Martin F-35, which are both said to have very small radar signatures.

Find out more about other types of Military Aircraft

Want to read more about Airforce NewsMilitary Transport AircraftMilitary Aircraft ShowMilitary Aircraft Technology?

Subscribe to Key.Aero

Become a part of our aviation community and subscribe to Key.Aero now. You can get all the aviation information you'll ever need, whenever you want, with access to all the latest aviation updates, news, events and more.