Agusta Westland A 129 Mangusta (Mongoose) The A 129 Mangusta ("Mongoose") was developed as a variant of the A 109 series of helicopters. The newly design aircraft proved to be larger and so different than its predecessor that the system was designated as the A 129 an...
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...
Airbus A340 The Airbus A340 series was already in design and development alongside the similar A330 series. In that respect, the two systems share a commonality in design and internal components. The major visual difference between the t...
AMX International AMX 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...
BAe Sea Harrier F/A.2 The Sea Harrier F/A.2 represents an upgrade to the existing Sea Harrier FRS.1 system (the FRS designation was later dropped in favor of the F/A depicted here). Among the improvements to the base Sea Harrier system are a redes...
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey The tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey helicopter was designed form the Bell-produced XV-15 demonstrator, a design looking to produce the next generation in helicopter design. The system is unique in the use of the tilt-rotor assemblies,...
Beriev Be-42 / A-40 Albatross (Mermaid) The Be-42 / A-40 Albatross (designated by NATO as "Mermaid") was asuprise discovery for Western intelligence sources when it was first spotted in 1988. It was, and still continues to be, the largest amphibious aircraft ever ...
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...
Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter was to be the next generation answer for the United States Army in replacing its aging series of UH-1, AH-1 Cobra, OH-6 and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters in full. The RAH-66 was designed as the world'...
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The Boeing-produced C-17 Globemaster III represents one of the latest additions to the United States Air Force mobile airlift fleet. On the modern battlefield, mobility is key to any advancing effort and systems like the C-17...
Boeing P-8 Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) is currently in development and on order for the United States Navy and represents a replacement for the Lockheed P-3 Orion series of aircraft. The P-8 is expected ...
Boeing ScanEagle The ScanEagle is a joint production UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by The Boeing Company and The Insitu Group. As a whole, the program is based highly on the Insitu SeaScan UAV aircraft but coupled with Boeing's expertise in t...
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...
Denel AH-2 Rooivalk (Kestrel) The Denel (then Atlas) AH-2 Rooivalk (translating to "Kestrel") was an ambitious and indigenous undertaking by the nation of South Africa. At the time of its development, the Rooivalk was heralded as one of the top performing...
Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota The UH-72 Lakota was accepted into service with US forces in late 2006 and will form a major portion of the United States Army National Guard's air arm, replacing the aging family of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. The Lakota ca...
Eurofighter 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...
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The MQ-9 "Reaper" ("M" = multirole; "Q" = Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; "9" = series designation) offers of the United States Air Force a high-level remotely-piloted weapons platform capable of instant action and precise engagemen...
General Atomics RS-1 / MQ-1 Predator At a cost of about $40 million dollars per system, the RQ-1/MQ-1 Predator is a pricey yet integral part of US Air Force operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Operating by remote control, the Predator can cover a section of terr...
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...
Lockheed F-35 Lightning II / X-35 JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) The F-35 Lightning II is a next generation multi-role platform appearing in three variants. It is a single-seat fighter offering up some of the most advanced technology and avionics systems available and incorporates new stea...
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...
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...
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit The B-2 Spirit (generically known as the "Stealth Bomber") was the pinnacle of tail-less flight designs beginning in the mind of Jack Northrop, founder of the Northrop aircraft company. Not only was the B-2 groundbreaking in ...
Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS (JSTARS) A product of the Northrop Grumman Corporation, the E-8 "Joint Stars" series of aircraft provides the United States Air Force with electronic "eyes" over the battlefield in the way of aerial surveillance. The aircraft is based...
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...
Raytheon T-6 Texan II Based on the Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, the Raytheon-built T-6 Texan II series was the product of a Department of Defense initiative to consolidate pilot training among the Air Force and Navy branches, doing away with the older g...
RQ-4 Global Hawk The Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle utilized by the United States Air Force and Navy for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance of enemy movements and positions. Despite being one of the larger in the American UA...
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...
SATIC A300-600ST (Beluga) Produced by a consortium consisting of Deustche Aerospace Airbus and Aerospatiale (as SATIC - Special Aircraft Transport International Company) the Beluga appeared on the scene in the middle 1990's as one of the most distinct...
Sukhoi Su-33 (Flanker) The Su-33 (NATO designation: "Flanker") represents the naval equivalent to the base Russian-produced Su-27 Flanker series, which in itself was produced to combat the American F-15 during the Cold War years.
Appearing very...
The 1990's saw air dominance and technology take over the battlefield once again. Major and minor conflicts throughout the Middle East and parts if Eastern Europe continued to show the importance of air superiority to a whole new generation of military planners. Televised warfare was in vogue, as was unmanned aircraft such as UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) were being developed and deployed to frontline use with good and accurate success in the reconnaissance and (later) strike roles. Technology made its mark on the battlefield in a whole new way with the integrating of GPS coordination for precision strikes and supercruise technology for radar-tracking avoidance while still reaching supersonic speeds without the use of afterburner. Composite exterior materials were also introduced as mainstream cover to help just about any aircraft achieve some level of stealth capability.
With the new series of Next Generation aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, the Saab Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, the field is poised once again to evolve into a new face of aviation warfare. This listing represents military and civilian aircraft reaching operational status from 1990 and onwards, including future editions of aircraft not yet fully operational.
