Aeritalia G.222
The G.222 was a medium transport produced by the Aeritalia corporation that saw some modest successes. The aircraft was designed to fit the need for short runway take-off and landings from rough airstrips and to provide the I...

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 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...

Aerospatiale / Eurocopter AS350 / AS355 / Astar
The AS350 was originally designed to replace the aging Sud Aviation / Aerospatiale Alouette II light utility helicopter series. The AS350 appeared first under the Aerospatiale brand label but is now known under the Eurocopter...

Aerospatiale SA 341 / SA 342 Gazelle
A popular light reconnaissance and attack helicopter for export order, the Aerospatiale Gazelle systems are a common site all over the world. Operating in the multirole mode, the system has the capabilities to undergo duties ...

AgustaWestland MH-68A Stingray / AW109 / A109
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Airbus A300
The A300-600 and A310 share a high percentage of commonality in terms of airframe design and construction (decreasing maintenance and repair costs somewhat), with the A300 maintaining the wider cross section - a full 222 inch...

Antonov An-32 (Cline)
The An-32 "Cline" was offered up by the Antonov bureau as an improved An-26 model. In essence, the system was quite similar to the preceding An-26 with newer and more powerful engines but offered up better performance in trop...

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 ...

Boeing 757-200
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Boeing CT-43 / T-43A
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Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS
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Boeing E-4 Airborne Command Post
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Dassault Falcon 50
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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 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 ...

Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet
The Alpha Jet series of aircraft was a joint Franco-German initiative to produce a highly-advanced tactical trainer with close-support capabilities. The French firm of Dassault-Breguet generated the initial evaluation model u...

Eurocopter BO 105
The Bo 105 is a light utility helicopter system recognized around the globe for its versatility, performance and safety record. The system has served (and continues to do so) in a military and civilian capacity in nations thr...

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog)
The A-10 Thunderbolt II was designed exclusively to fulfill the Close-Air Support (CAS) role from the outset, perhaps matched only in scope by the Soviet/Russian Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot". The terminology inherent in "Close-Air...

FMA IA-58 Pucara (Fortress)
The impressive-looking, two-seat IA-58 Pucara (meaning "Fortress") was produced by the Fabrica Militar de Aviones of Argentina. The aircraft was classified as a counter-insurgency ground-attack system capable of rough-field o...

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 ...

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"...

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...

IAR 316
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Ilyushin IL-76 (Candid)
The Ilyushin IL-76 heavy transport was debuted in the early 1970s, entered service in the mid-1970s and is still operating today - some 36 years after its inception. At any rate, the IL-76 has proven something of a success st...

Kamov Ka-27 (Helix)
The Ka-27 Helix was designed and built as a replacement for the aging Soviet-era Ka-25 navy helicopter - also built by Kamov. The Ka-27 is designated as an anti-ship helicopter for the Russian Navy but fulfills a variety o...

Lockheed / Vought S-3 Viking
The S-3 Viking series of carrier-borne aircraft was a joint production effort from the Lockheed and Vought aircraft firms. Selected from no fewer than five proposals from various other companies an including the two aforement...

Lockheed AC-130H Spectre / AC-130U Spooky
Since the advent of the airplane as an instrument of war, warplanners have relied on the power of mobile aerial attacks to keep an enemy on its toes. From the simple dropping of flechettes on entrenched enemy positions in Wor...

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
At one time the Lockheed-built C-5 Galaxy was the largest aircraft ever produced, being able to field a compliment of 350 troops, 10 LAV-type systems, 5 Humvee vehicles, 2 M1 Abrams main battle tanks or a single CH-47 Chinook...

McDonnell Douglas / Boeing F-15 Eagle
For a time, the F-15 Eagle series was the pinnacle of American air superiority incorporating technolgy and design that produced a highly manuervable and performanced enhanced multi-role fighter platform. The F-15 was designed...

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-31 (Foxhound)
The Mikoyan-produced MiG-31 was the culmination of work that began with the development of the MiG-25 Foxbat series of high-altitude, high-speed interceptors challenged with taking out the new generation of long-range high-al...

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") ...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Foxbat)
The MiG-25 Foxbat was designed as a high-speed pure interceptor to combat the developing XB-70 Valkyrie American bomber capable of Mach 3. Though the Valkyrie never materialized for US war planners, the MiG-25 was kept in pro...

Mil Mi-14 (Haze)
The Mil Mi-14 (NATO codename "Haze") was a dedicated naval anti-submarine helicopter appearing in limited production numbers throughout the Cold War beginning in 1975. The system was a further development of the Mil Mi-8 seri...

Mil Mi-24 / Mi-25 / Mi-35 (Hind)
The Mil-produced series of "Hind" helicopters was a favorite Cold War-relic and continues (albeit modernized) in many of today's armies including Russias. The heavy helicopter is capable of commanding various battlefield role...

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...

Nanchang Q-5 (Fantan)
With China already in possession of what was essentially the Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 "Farmer" in the Chinese copy known as the Shenyang J-6, it was decided upon developing a ground attack version of the aircraft ...

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 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...

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...

Rockwell XFV-12
The XFV-12 aircraft was a proposed Rockwell International design to a United States Navy requirement for a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft system. Though a promising concept from the beginning, the XFV-12 was te...

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...

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk has become a workhorse for the United States and other military forces the world over. Its capabilities have increased her roles to include Special Operations assignments, assault, MedEvac, Comma...

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-24 (Fencer)
The Su-24 (NATO series name of "Fencer") was a successful Sukhoi product requested by the Soviet government to replace their aging IL-28 and Yak-28 medium-class bombers. Though initial research resulted in a delta-wing design...

Tupolev Tu-144 (Charger)
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Tupolev Tu-22 (Backfire / Blinder)
The Tupolev Tu-22 "Backfire" series is a variable-geometry swing-wing aircraft classified as a medium bomber - of the only true remaining modern "medium bomber" designated aircraft currently flying. The system was originally ...

Westland / AgustaWestland Lynx
The Westland Lynx (AgustaWestland since 2000) was designed to a British Army requirement and initially consisted of four planned projects that included an army, navy, 2-seat attack and civilian passenger versions. The main id...

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...