Aerospatiale / Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma / AS 532 Cougar
The Super Puma was developed by French-based Aerospatiale (formerly Sud Aviation) form the successful AS 330 Puma series of medium-lift utility helicopters. The newer Super Puma design was essentially a base Puma with an impr...

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...

Airbus A310
The Airbus A310-300 was produced as a budgeted alternative to the based A300-series (detailed elsewhere on this web site) at a time when Airbus was still awaiting official order placement from potential customers. This interi...

Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Condor)
The Antonov-produced AN-124 was the world's largest aircraft before the Russian AN-225 made it's debut, but it remained the largest to go into production nonetheless. The AN-124 was developed foremost as a military transport ...

Antonov An-225 Mriya (Cossack)
As of this writing, the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" maintains the title of "largest aircraft ever built". The system eclipsed the previous Antonov design attempt in the form of the An-124 Ruslan "Condor" (detailed elsewhere on thi...

Antonov An-72 (Coaler)
The An-72 "Coaler" was another Antonov Design Bureau creation designed to assist the Soviet military in logistical sorties as a tactical transport. The design was of a unique and very identifiable nature, placing the powerful...

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...

Beechcraft C-12 Huron
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Bell AH-1 SuperCobra
The AH-1W and AH-1J SuperCobra series of helicopters are an updated and slightly modified version of the AH-1 HueyCobra (or simply "Cobra") detailed elsewhere on this website. Much like the base Cobra, the SuperCobra is a...

Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Hughes AH-64 Apache / Apache Longbow
Originally a Hughes-based design, the YAH-64 faced off against a Bell YAH-63 system in the United States Army's search for an advanced attack helicopter. The system was to field the latest in technology, maneuverability and b...

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 767-300
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Britten-Norman Defender
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C-23 Sherpa
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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...

E-6A Mercury TACAMO
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General Dynamics / Grumman EF-111 Raven
The EF-111 Raven was developed from a United States Air Force need for an Electronic Warfare Aircraft (EWA) to replace its aging fleet of EB-66 platforms. The EF-111 was born directly from the airframe of the existing F-111 A...

General Dynamics F-16XL
Though appearing very much like the F-16 Fighting Falcon base model, the F-16XL was designed as a very different aircraft. The F-16XL was a conversion model development designed to study the effects of laminar airflow at supe...

Grumman X-29
The Grumman X-29 aircraft was a developmental technology demonstrator appearing in the latter years of the Cold War. The design was of a most unique shape - made notable by the forward-swept wings - and was the first aircraft...

Gulfstream II / III / C-20 / SRA-1
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IAI RQ-2 Pioneer
The RQ-2 Pioneer series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) was one of the first operational entries into the United States Military family of UAVs. In its early form, the system served battleship vessels with artillery spottin...

Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call
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Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (Stealth Fighter)
Aptly-named, the Lockheed-produced F-117 Nighthawk became the world’s first operational stealth aircraft in the world. Conceived of and developed from the late 1970’s, the Nighthawk was the subject of much speculation before ...

Lockheed MC-130 Combat Shadow
The MC-130 platform has served special forces operations since the Vietnam War and is based on the successful Lockheed C-130 cargo aircraft platform. The MC-130P Combat Shadow specifically serves as an inflight refueling vehi...

Lockheed MQM-105 Aquila TADAR
The MGM-105 Aquila (Eagle) TADAR (Target Acquisition, Designation and Aerial Reconnaissance) was the first United States Army attempt at securing a reusable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) capable of conducting a range of missi...

Lun Ekranoplan
The Lun-class Ekranoplan floatplane was one of the most distinct designs to emerge from the Cold War. The aircraft was designed around the idea known as "wing-in-ground" effect, which basically allowed for an increased weight...

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 / Boeing MD-11
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McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II
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McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
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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...

Mil Mi-26 (Halo)
At the time of its inception, the Cold War-era Mi-26 (codenamed "Halo" by NATO) was - and still remains - the most powerful operational helicopter in the world. Intended to replace the aging Mil Mi-6 series, the Mi-26 accompl...

Mil Mi-28 (Havoc)
The Mi-28 (NATO reporting name of "Havoc") was a product of the Cold War designed as an anti-tank attack platform similar in nature to the American-produced AH-64 Apache series. Like the Apache, the Mi-28 featured an armored ...

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, ...

Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado series of strike aircraft was developed through a consortium featuring the nations of Britain, Germany (West) and Italy. Each country would be responsible for the design and construction of a specialized p...

Rockwell / Boeing B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer series was a variable sweep wing low-altitude penetration aircraft capable of delivering nuclear free-fall bombs at high speeds. The system was designed from a Cold War initiative in 1965 by the United...

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...

Sikorsky CH-53 Super Stallion
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Sikorsky HH-60J Jayhawk
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Sikorsky MH-53 (Pave Low)
The MH-53 was a series of large transport helicopters operated by the United States Air Force in the special operations role. The MH-53 designation breaks down as "M" standing for Multi-Mission and "H" standing for helicopter...

Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk
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Sikorsky VH-60 Whitehawk
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Sukhoi Su-25 (Frogfoot)
The Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" series of aircraft harkened back to the successes of the Soviet IL-2 Sturmovik close-support fighter-bombers. The Su-25 was quite a departure from traditional jet aircraft designs of the time and i...

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 ...

Tupolev Tu-160 (Blackjack)
At the time of it's inception, the Tupolev-produced Tu-160 "Blackjack" was the largest swing-wing bomber ever produced also mounting the most powerful engines to an aircraft platform ever. Developed as a direct counter to the...

Yakovlev Yak-41/Yak-141 (Freestyle)
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