Modern Military Jets

F-22 Raptor

Role	Stealth Air superiority fighter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
First flight	YF-22: 29 September 1990 F-22: 7 September 1997
Introduction	15 December 2005 FOC on 12 December 2007
Status	In service
Primary user	United States Air Force
Number built	145 as of September 2009,

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence^[7] roles. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Program partner Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and all of the pilot and maintenance training systems.

The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 during the years prior to formally entering USAF service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite a protracted and costly development period, the United States Air Force considers the F-22 a critical component for the future of US tactical airpower, and claims that the aircraft is unmatched by any known or projected fighter, while Lockheed Martin claims that the Raptor's combination of stealth, speed, agility, precision and situational awareness, combined with air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities, makes it the best overall fighter in the world today. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in 2004 that the "F-22 will be the most outstanding fighter plane ever built."

The high cost of the aircraft, a lack of a clear air to air combat mission because of the lengthy delays in the Russian and Chinese fifth generation fighter programs, a US ban on export of the Raptor to other countries, and the development of the cheaper and more versatile F-35 resulted in calls to end F-22 production. In April 2009 the US Department of Defense proposed to cease placing new orders, subject to Congressional approval, for a final procurement tally of 187 Raptors. The US Senate and House each passed 2010 budget bill versions without F-22 production funding in July 2009. Congress worked to combine these versions into one bill, and President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 in October 2009, without funding for F-22 production.

SR-71 Blackbird

Role	Strategic Reconnaissance
Manufacturer	Lockheed Skunk Works
Designed by	Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight	22 December 1964
Introduced	1966
Retired	1998
Primary users	United States Air Force NASA
Number built	32
Developed from	Lockheed A-12

The Lockheed SR-71 is an advanced, long range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works as a Black project. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews, referring to an Okinawan species of pit viper. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. A defensive feature of the aircraft was its high speed and operating altitude, whereby, if a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. The SR-71 line was in service from 1964 to 1998, with 12 of the 32 aircraft being destroyed in accidents, though none were lost to enemy action. Since 1976, it has held the world record for the fastest air breathing manned aircraft in existence, which record was previously held by the YF-12.

The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. On 28 July 1976, an SR-71 broke the world record for its class: an absolute speed record of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.17 mph; 3,529.56 km/h), and an "absolute altitude record" of 85,069 feet (25,929 m).^[55]^[56] Several aircraft exceeded this altitude in zoom climbs but not in sustained flight.

When the SR-71 was retired in 1990, one example was flown from its birthplace at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to go on exhibit at what is now the Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (an annex of the National Air & Space Museum) in Chantilly, Virginia. On 6 March 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. J. T. Vida piloted the Blackbird, setting a coast-to-coast aircraft speed record: 67 minutes 54 seconds, at an average speed 2,125 miles per hour (3,420 km/h). Three additional records were set within segments of the flight, including an average speed of 2,190 miles per hour (3,520 km/h) measured between the radar gates set up in St. Louis and Cincinnati. These four speed records were accepted by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the recognized body for aviation records in the United States.^[58] An enthusiast site devoted to the Blackbird lists a record time of 64 minutes 20 seconds between Los Angeles and Washington DC for that 6 March 1990 flight.

The SR-71 also holds the "Speed Over a Recognized Course" record for flying from New York to London in 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, set on 1 September 1974 while flown by U.S. Air Force Pilot Maj. James V. Sullivan and Maj. Noel F. Widdifield, reconnaissance system officer.^[59] This equates to an average velocity of about Mach 2.68, including deceleration for in-flight refueling. Peak speeds during this flight were probably closer to the declassified top speed of Mach 3.2+. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes, and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes.