Modern aircraft are able to fly very fast. By "fast" I don't mean speeds 10 times faster than a car, but really FAST. Even without afterburner mode, modern fighters easily overcome the speed of sound. Passenger aviation has long been flying at supersonic speeds. It was possible, but expensive, so (among other things) flying and stopped about 20 years ago. All this is good, but if you dig into the history and archival documents, you can find several aircraft that flew not just on supersonic, but on hypersound, that is, several times faster than the speed of sound. How is this even possible, what happened to them and do they exist now? After all, in this day and age, speed is important in everything, especially in combat. In addition, the prompt delivery of cargo and passengers to anywhere in the world is important. So what's out there with the fastest plane in the world?

How fast do the fastest planes fly?

In fact, the list that we will discuss today does not include all aircraft that can reach tremendous speeds. All because some of them are secret, and the other often existed only on paper, or its samples cannot be considered finished products.

Despite this, I will talk about a sufficient number of aircraft that simply amaze the imagination and cause great interest in terms of technology. As usual, let's arrange them in order of increasing speed so that it really looks like a rating.

General Dynamics F-111 – fast bomber

This aircraft can not be called something outstanding in terms of speed. It was barely superior in this indicator to the passenger Concorde and TU-144, which could reach speeds of about 2200-2400 kilometers per hour.

However, the Aardvark, as the F-111 was also called, could reach twice the speed of sound in flight. Its maximum speed was 2,645 kilometers per hour. At that time, this was a good speed, which made it possible to successfully conduct many military operations.

The first samples entered service with the 4480th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the United States in October 1967. During the service, more than 10 aircraft were lost only according to official data.

In 1996, they were withdrawn from the US Air Force, and during this time they managed to participate in some operations of the Vietnam War, in Operation El Dorado Canyon (an attack on Gaddafi's residence in Libya), in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, and other military operations.

McDonnell Douglas F-15 "Eagle" - the most famous fighter

This aircraft is considered a bright representative of its time and fourth-generation fighters. Such aircraft are called all-weather tactical fighters capable of gaining air superiority.The aircraft entered service with the US Army back in 1976 and during his service managed to participate in dozens of operations in the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and even in Yugoslavia. The track record of the machine is huge, and how many times these aircraft took to the air to perform secret combat missions or intercept unidentified air targets, you can not count at all.

In total, as many as 22 modifications of this aircraft were created, designed for various tasks. The maximum speed of the aircraft is 2650 kilometers per hour.

MiG-31 - two-seat fighter

This aircraft was originally designed as a supersonic fighter-interceptor for flights in any weather. In the end, it turned out to be. This is a long-range aircraft, which has several modifications for different conditions of use.

It is noteworthy that it was this aircraft that was the first fourth-generation combat aircraft in the USSR. The range of its application is very high. It is capable of intercepting any air targets at high, medium, low and extremely low altitudes. Even heat traps and artificially created radar interference shouldn't be a problem for him.

The crew is two people. This machine is capable of accelerating to 3000 kilometers per hour, which leaves no chance for the enemy aircraft. Unless, of course, it goes further on our list.

MiG-25 - supersonic interceptor

The decision to design the MiG 25 was made on the basis that the Soviet Union did not have an aircraft that could fly at a very high altitude and at a very high speed. Moreover, intelligence has been received from overseas that the Americans are preparing new means of attack - the Valkyrie supersonic bomber, the Navajo missile and the A12 reconnaissance aircraft. Looking ahead, it turned out that the Valkyrie was too expensive and abandoned, the Navajo simply turned out to be unsuccessful, and the A-12 later changed the index to SR-71, but also did not achieve fame. However, we will return to it in this article.

The MiG-25 entered service in 1972 as a modification of the MiG-25P (P-interceptor). Under the wings it had 4 R-40 air-to-air missiles. A little later, the MiG-25R (R-reconnaissance) appeared. It had no weapons other than two powerful cameras for capturing the terrain. Still later, a modification of the MiG-29RB (reconnaissance, bomber) appeared. He, in addition to reconnaissance, could carry bombs to drop on enemy territory. Even the delivery of nuclear bombs was allowed.

The characteristics of the aircraft did not imply the performance of aerobatics on it, but the pilots still did it, and the management even encouraged them. Made, unlike other aircraft, it was not made of aluminum, but of steel. This was the only way to effectively resist heat when rubbing against the air at maximum speed. In general, the car could climb to 22,500 meters and overcome up to 2,000 kilometers. In total, about 1,000 MiG-25 of various modifications were produced. Its maximum speed was 3,300 kilometers per hour.

SR-71 "Blackbird" - Black Bird

This aircraft formally served as the reason for the creation of the MiG-25, but in itself was no less interesting. This is a strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force. For his time, he flew damn fast — more than 3,700 kilometers per hour.

The dry weight of the aircraft is 27 tons, and the maximum take-off weight is 77 tons. It's no surprise when reading how much fuel he had to take on board. He flew very quickly and even violated the borders of the USSR several times. The command thought that such actions would go unpunished. As a result of one of these flights, he was shot down and the flights stopped. No one wanted to give such an aircraft, albeit in a destroyed form, to the enemy. It had too much valuable information and very big risks for the opportunity to photograph the territory of the country near the border.

North American X-15 - can the plane fly into space

This aircraft accelerated to a fantastic 7,300 kilometers per hour, but it can not be called serial. It was an experimental aircraft. This type of machine is also called a "rocket plane". Its design no longer uses aircraft jet engines, but rocket engines.

The X-15 was not designed for military operations or reconnaissance, but to study the behavior of technology at hypersonic speed. And he also helped to conduct research on the withdrawal of winged vehicles into the upper atmosphere and the entrance back. So far, it is the only aircraft that has made a suborbital space flight with pilots and returned back. In general, the ceiling of this "gizmo" was a height of 107,000 meters. It was at this altitude in 1963 that the North American X-15, piloted by Joseph Walker, a NASA test pilot and unofficial astronaut, climbed twice.

Orbital Sciences Corporation X-34 - speed record on the aircraft

We continue to go on an increasing basis and another aircraft, which is more like a rocket, but formally is an airplane, as it adheres to its control principles and has bearing wings. This aircraft no longer had pilots on board, it rose into the air "under the belly" of the carrier aircraft. But during tests in 2004, it accelerated to 11,000 kilometers per hour over the Pacific Ocean.

Initially, it was planned that the device would be able to gain 12,200 kilometers per hour, but it did not work. As for the design, the aircraft itself is not very large and has a length of only 17.78 meters, and a wingspan of 8.85 meters. A solid-fuel engine is responsible for the movement, the production of which spent a quarter of a billion dollars, and 7 years for testing.

The plane can not climb too high, although 75 kilometers is already more than an impressive figure.

Boeing X-43 - the fastest aircraft in the world

This aircraft only slightly surpassed the results of the previous device, but there should be only one winner. Boeing X-43 has developed a speed that is about 9.5 times higher than the speed of sound - 11,230 kilometers per hour. The project also cost a quarter of a billion dollars, but its implementation took 10 years.

Boeing X-43 is also a drone and at the same time it is not very large. The wingspan is only 1.5 meters, and the length is only 3.6 meters. It is not necessary to talk about the practical application of such an aircraft. It was also created as a flying laboratory.

Interestingly, there are no rubbing parts in its design. The fuel for it is a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, which in its exhaust gives just water vapor. The plane was supposed to show that such speeds are possible, and also that it is possible to use alternative fuels.

He also had to show that the times when the plane can fly to anywhere in the world in 2-3 hours have almost come.