Modern US Aircraft
While still retaining some older pieces from World War 2 and the Cold War, modern American air power remains second to none.
There are a total of 149 Modern US Aircraft in the Military Factory. Entries are listed below by initial year of service. Flag images indicative of country of origin.
2020
Bell Helicopters is forging their 3rd Generation Tiltrotor concept for marketing to the United States Army and its Future Ver...
2020
While helicopters have evolved since their mainstream inception in the 1950s, the "rotorcraft" has remained largely conventio...
2018
The Sikorsky CH-53K "Super Stallion" represents the latest incarnation of the famous large American military helicopter with ...
2017
The Boeing KC-46 was selected to replace the aging line of Boeing KC-135 "Stratotankers" through the KC-X program - a competi...
2015
The Boeing Phantom Eye is a next generation UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). The most unique facet of the Phantom Eye is its us...
2015
The KC-45 is/was a joint proposal from primary contractor Northrop Grumman of the United States and subcontractor EADS (Europ...
2015
The MQ-4C "Triton" unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) represents a "navalized" form of the original Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global H...
2015
The General Atomics Avenger (formerly marked as the "Predator C") is one of the newer UAV systems to come online with the Uni...
2014
The Fire-X is being jointly developed as a full-size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by Northrop Grumman and Bell Helicopter. T...
2014
The A350 is the latest Airbus contribution to the competitive wide-body, long-range airliner market. The aircraft is intended...
2014
The Lockheed F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter development of the United States that incorporates new and learn...
2013
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) is currently in development and on order for the United States N...
2013
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 "Integrator" is an in-development Unmanned Air System (UAS) intended to supplant the Boeing Scan Eagl...
2012
The 787 "Dreamliner" represents Boeing's latest foray into the world of commercial passenger air travel. To this point, the p...
2012
Northrop Grumman heads the "Sandstorm/Longshot" unmanned aerial system (UAS) program developed by Unmanned Systems, Incorpora...
2012
KQ-X is a program designation commissioned by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) of the United States to modif...
2012
The A160 Hummingbird is a rotary-winged unmanned aerial vehicle that supplies the benefits of conventional UAV systems with t...
2011
Following the proof-of-concept demonstrator X-47A "Pegasus", the X-47B was born as a full-sized technology demonstrating Unma...
2010
Billed as the "World's Fastest Airplane", the Falcon HTV-2 ("Hypersonic Technology Vehicle") is a long-duration, hypersonic t...
2010
The Boeing X-51 "Waverider" is an unmanned technology demonstrator designed to further develop the concept of shockwave-assis...
2009
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 is classified as a "Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" and - unlike other UAVs in operation today - ...
2009
The remotely-piloted General Atomics MQ-1C "Sky Warrior" / "Gray Eagle" is part of the ever-growing breed of armed UAV (Unma...
2009
The Arcturus T-20 was initially developed as a private venture by the Arcturus-UAV LLC concern of California, USA and further...
2009
The Boeing EA-18G "Growler" was designed and developed to overtake the Electronic Warfare Aircraft (EWA) role from the venera...
2008
The Honeywell RQ-16 T-Hawk is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) currently in limited service wit...
2008
The AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma is one of the many intelligence-gathering unmanned aircraft system (UAS) currently in service wi...
2007
The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 "Sentinel" is a relatively new stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and is categorized officially...
2007
The UH-72 Lakota was accepted into service with US forces in late 2006 and will form a major portion of the United States Arm...
2007
In 1981, the United States Department of Defense enacted the "Joint-Service Vertical Take-Off/Landing Experimental" (JVX) pro...
2006
The Bell ARH-70 helicopter was developed for the US Army as a possible direct replacement to the successful but aged Kiowa Wa...
2005
The ScanEagle is a joint production UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by The Boeing Company and The Insitu Group. As a whole, the...
2005
The IAI Heron (also known as the "Machatz-1") is a modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) currently in service with several mil...
2005
The Lockheed F-22 "Raptor" represents a culmination of decades-worth of data collection, testing and evaluation for the Unite...
2004
The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter was to be the next generation answer for the United States Army in replacing its aging series ...
2004
The MQ-9 "Reaper" ("M" = multirole; "Q" = Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; "9" = series designation) offers the United States Air For...
2003
The EMB 314 "Super Tucano" (also "A-29") represents a locally-produced Brazilian aircraft product falling under the then-gove...
2003
The Hermes 450 is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of Israeli origination, part of the growing family of Hermes "Unmanned Air...
2003
The AeroVinronment RQ-11 "Raven" is classified as a "Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" (SUAV), this attributed directly to its ...
2003
The French concern of Airbus unveiled their new A320 commercial aircraft family line in March of 1984 and eventually expanded...
2002
The MH-60S Knighthawk is the United States Navy's newest multi-mission helicopter. Originally designated as the CH-60S to sig...
2002
The Super Hornet is the latest, and most likely the ultimate, evolution in the F/A-18 Hornet series of precision strike aircr...
2002
The HH-65 Dolphin replaced the Sikorsky HH-52A Sea Guards then in service with the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The HH-6...
2001
The Northrop Grumman "Global Hawk" is a large-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) utilized by the United States Air Force and...
2001
The AAI Corporation RQ-7 Shadow is an unarmed tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle currently in active service wit...
2001
The AAI Aerosonde is described as a modular, long endurance unmanned aerial system (UAS) which intends to fulfill the primary...
2000
The Boeing X-32 was a prototype aircraft developed for the US military's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The Boeing submi...
2000
The AgustaWestland AW101 "Merlin" (formerly the EH Industries EH101 Merlin) is a medium-lift, multi-purpose, multi-role helic...
2000
Based on the Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, the Raytheon-built T-6 Texan II series was the product of a Department of Defense initiat...
1998
The Bell Eagle Eye (company Model 918) is/was an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) developed to compete in the US Navy's "Vertical...
1997
The Alenia C-27 "Spartan" is a medium-lift transport and joint development effort founded by Italy's Alenia and America's Loc...
1997
The QF-4 represents a full-size unmanned target drone version of the successful Cold War-era F-4 Phantom II aircraft. QF-4's ...
1997
The B-2 Spirit (generically known as the "Stealth Bomber") was the pinnacle of tail-less flight designs beginning in the mind...
1996
A product of the Northrop Grumman Corporation, the E-8 "Joint Stars" series of aircraft provides the United States Air Force ...
1996
The Hunter is a large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and was first introduced in 1996 in limited numbers with the United State...
1995
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 opera...
1995
Throughout the 1970s, the Boeing Company operated the mammoth 747 four-engined, "wide-body" long-range jet airliner. In 1978,...
1994
The Kaman K-MAX is a general purpose, multi-role, all-weather platform certified for long endurance, repeated external medium...
1993
The Boeing-produced C-17 Globemaster III represents one of the latest additions to the United States Air Force mobile airlift...
1991
The HH-60 Pave Hawk series of all-weather day/night transport helicopters is an Air Force version of the successful UH-60 Bla...
1991
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing T-45 Goshawk is a navalized version of the land-based British Aerospace (now BAe Systems) Hawk -...
1990
The YF-23 Black Widow II was Northrop Grumman's (along with McDonnell Douglas Corporation) answer to the American ATF (Advanc...
1990
The US Coast Guard's HH-60 "Jayhawk" is based on the hugely successful Sikorsky Aircraft "S-70" rotary-wing model series that...
1990
The VC-25 is used to usher the President of the United States and his staff on various journeys around the globe. The VC-25 i...
1989
The Boeing E-6 Mercury was original developed for the United States Navy as an airborne command and communications relay plat...
1988
The F-15E "Strike Eagle" is a dual-role version of the highly successful base F-15 air superiority fighter. The Strike Eagle ...
1986
The Hughes / McDonnell Douglas / Boeing AH-64 Apache has served American and allied military forces well during her storied o...
1986
The RQ-2 Pioneer series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) was one of the first operational UAVs utilized by the United States...
1986
The MC-130 platform has served special forces operations since the Vietnam War and is based on the successful Lockheed C-130 ...
1985
The Short Brothers (sometimes shortened to "Shorts") concern was formed in 1908 with operations settled out of London (having...
1985
The Eurocopter AS565 "Panther" is nothing more than a medium class, multi-role, twin-engined militarized form of the original...
1985
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer series was a variable sweep wing low-altitude penetration aircraft capable of delivering nuclear free...
1985
While the original Hawker Siddeley Harrier proved revolutionary for its time, and the follow-up BAe Systems Sea Harrier bette...
1984
The Su-27 "Flanker" series of aircraft is regarded by most airplane aficionados as the ultimate in Russian fighter design. Th...
1984
The Sikorsky SH-60 "Seahawk" is the navalized derivative of the ubiquitous land-based UH-60 "Black Hawk" series transport hel...
1984
Sensing the growing need for light, jet-powered dual-role aircraft, the Italian concern of SIAI-Marchetti proposed a new airc...
1983
The McDonnell Douglas A-12 "Avenger II" was slated to become the United States Navy's (USN) first stealth aircraft. The type ...
1983
The 757-series airliner began as a 1970s Boeing endeavor to replace their aging 727 three-engined "trijet" airliner model. Th...
1983
The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based attack fighter currently in frontline service with a variety of forces world...
1982
The EC-130H "Compass Call" is a dedicated Electronic Warfare Aircraft (EWA) platform based on the hugely successful Lockheed ...
1981
The KC-10 Extender airframe is based on a modified Boeing DC-10 (more precisely the "DC-10-30CF" model) and retains some 88 p...
1981
The MH-53 was a series of large transport helicopters operated by the United States Air Force in the special operations role....
1980
The AH-6/MH-6 "Little Bird" forms an oft-overlook yet wholly vital part of American Special Operations services. This highly ...
1979
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk has become a workhorse for the United States and other military forces the world over. Its capa...
1979
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is one of the more successful aircraft designs of the Cold War. The system was designed in a head-to...
1978
The Italian Alenia G.222 medium-lift tactical transport was born from a 1962 NATO requirement for a Vertical / Short Take-Off...
1977
The An-32 "Cline" was offered up by the Antonov bureau as an improved An-26 model. In essence, the system was quite similar t...
1976
For a time, the McDonnell Douglas (now under Boeing) F-15 Eagle series was the pinnacle of American air superiority, incorpor...
1976
The A-10 Thunderbolt II was designed exclusively to fulfill the Close-Air Support (CAS) role from the outset, perhaps matched...
1976
The British-Italian helicopter concern of AgustaWestland developed their AW109 model of 1971 as a commercial-level passenger-...
1976
The BAe Hawk has maintained one of the most successful aerial tenures of any lightweight jet trainer aircraft with origins da...
1975
The AS350 was originally designed to replace the aging Sud Aviation / Aerospatiale Alouette II light utility helicopter serie...
1975
The Ilyushin IL-76 heavy transport was debuted in the early 1970s, entered service in the mid-1970s and is still operating to...
1975
The Kfir (translated to "Lion Cub") was a semi-indigenous Israeli fighter development designed to fulfill an IAF (Israeli Air...
1974
The S-3 Viking series of carrier-borne aircraft was a joint production effort from the Lockheed and Vought aircraft firms. Se...
1973
In the early 1970s, the United States Air Force commissioned the Boeing concern to develop and deliver an airborne navigation...
1973
The famous Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopter stemmed from a Soviet Cold-War requirement for a heavily armed and armored transport h...
1972
Since the advent of the airplane as an instrument of war, warplanners have relied on the power of mobile aerial attacks to ke...
1971
The AH-1W and AH-1J SuperCobra series of helicopters are an updated and slightly modified version of the AH-1 HueyCobra (or s...
1970
At one time the Lockheed-built C-5 Galaxy was the largest aircraft ever produced, being able to field a compliment of 350 tro...
1970
The Mach 2-capable MiG-23 "Flogger" became the first "swing-wing" fighter to enter service with the Soviet Union and went on ...
1969
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa has seen a long, successful and extended service life with the US Army (and others) since its inception ...
1969
The Puma began life as a product of Sud Aviation designed to meet an French Army requirement for an all-weather, medium-lift,...
1967
Numbering well over 12,000 production examples, the Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name of "Hip") can be viewed as one of the most ...
1967
The Grumman C-2 Greyhound was developed from the successful Grumman E-2 Hawkeye. Whereas the latter was a dedicated carrier-b...
1967
The Bell 206 was derived from the unsuccessful OH-4 bid by the Bell company to fulfill a US Army need for a light-weight, tur...
1966
The Hughes OH-6 "Cayuse" (popularly recognized as the "Loach") was a revolutionary light helicopter mount primarily in servic...
1966
The North American/Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was developed through the United States Marine Corps Light Armed Reconnaissance Airc...
1964
The CH-46 Sea Knight is similar in design and role to the CH-47 Chinook series of transport helicopters. Both offer up unobst...
1964
The E-2 Hawkeye series serves carrier battle groups (principally in the United States Navy) and is called upon as an all-weat...
1962
The P-3 Orion aircraft is a product of Lockheed Martin, designed and accepted at a time when Lockheed could do little wrong i...
1962
The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite helicopter has served a lengthy and respected career in the navies of several nations across the glo...
1960
The Saab J 35 Draken (translated in English to "Dragon" but carrying the meaning of "Kite" based on the aircraft's angular re...
1960
The Aerospatiale Alouette III, is French for Skylark having a single-engine and to be used as a light utility helicopter and ...
1959
The North American (now Boeing) T-2 Buckeye was responsible for the training of thousands of American naval aviators from 195...
1955
The U-2 spyplane was a pivotal player during the peak years of the Cold War between the United States of America and the Sovi...
1955
The B-52 has been the preeminent American heavy bomber of the last 54 years. The massive aircraft served throughout the heigh...
1955
The 707 model series for The Boeing Company proved to be the catalyst for their commercial market successes to come. The 707 ...
1953
The T-34 Mentor series served the United States Air Force and United States Navy well in training generations of aviators in ...
1937
While most every aircraft venture usually began with a military requirement or private venture undertaken by a manufacturer f...
1934
The high performance, record-setting Messerschmitt Bf 108 "Taifun" ("Typhoon") was born as a racing aircraft under the protot...
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