In the past, the two military powers of the United States and the Soviet Union continuously developed high-speed fighter models to show their power to the enemy.
The American F-4 Phantom 2 aircraft began its maiden flight on May 27, 1958. It was originally developed for the Navy. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force also used the aircraft. The maximum speed of the aircraft can reach nearly 2,368km / h, carrying many weapons such as air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles and bombs.
Convair F-106 Delta Dart aircraft can reach a top speed of about 2,454km/h. The US used this aircraft since 1959 to intercept and attack Soviet bombers during the Cold War. To date, it still holds the record as the fastest single-engine fighter in the world.
Mikoyan MiG-31 Foxhound has a maximum speed of 2,993km/h. The MiG31 is still the fastest Soviet fighter ever built, and is still in service with the Russian and Kazakh armies to this day. It took off for the first time on September 16, 1975, and Russia plans to remain in the squadron until 2030.
The Soviet Mikoyan Ye-152 was first introduced in 1959. The maximum speed of the aircraft is 3,030km/h.
The American XB-70 was the first prototype of the US B-70 nuclear-powered strategic bomber project. However, this project was never completed. The plane reached a top speed of 3,038km/h, first took off in 1964.
The Bell X-2 “Starbuster ” was only in service for a short period of time from November 1955 to September 1956. This is the result of a joint project between Bell Aviation, the US Air Force and the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee. The aircraft reached a maximum speed of 3,369km/h on September 27, 1956. However, pilot Milburn G.Apt died after this test flight. He was also the first person to control an aircraft to reach Mach 3 (1,020m/s).
The Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat was first introduced in 1970. This is a supersonic interceptor that can be used in reconnaissance operations. Its top speed is 3,492km/h but will damage the engine. It can maintain a sustained fast speed at 3,089km/h.
Lockheed Martin of the United States designed the SR-71 Blackbird , first introduced in late 1964. It can fly at an altitude of more than 24,000m and reach a maximum speed of 3,540 km/h. It’s only been in business for over 30 years. In the flight before “retirement” , SR-71 flew from the coast of Los Angeles, California, to Washington, DC in just 67 minutes.
The world’s fastest manned aircraft, NASA’s X-15 , took off for the first time on June 8, 1959. However, it was not until October 3, 1967, that it reached a maximum speed of 7,274 km / h.