Top 10 Fastest Jet Fighters in the World (Mach and Speed)

No list is complete without the Blackbird. Officially it wasn't a fighter but a reconnaissance aircraft. It flew so high and so fast that if a surface-to-air missile was fired at it, the standard procedure for the pilot was: “just speed up”. On the ground the plane leaked fuel, because its titanium panels only expanded and sealed shut from the heat of flight.

This was the SR-71's little brother, but armed. It was a prototype interceptor. In theory it was even slightly faster than the Blackbird. The project was scrapped because it was too expensive, and the technology was transferred to the SR-71. It remains the fastest interceptor ever built.

When the West first saw this Soviet monster on radar, panic broke out. The MiG-25 was built to blast American bombers out of the sky. It could reach Mach 3.2, but pilots were warned not to exceed Mach 2.8, because otherwise the engines literally started to melt and were destroyed.

The successor to the MiG-25. The Russians realized the Foxbat was too clumsy and built the Foxhound. It is still in service and is currently the fastest operational combat jet in the world. It can fly supersonic at low altitude, something few other aircraft can do.

The pride of the US Air Force. The F-15 is decades old but still one of the fastest. The aircraft has so much engine power that it can fly straight up and still accelerate. The 'Streak Eagle' (a stripped-down version) broke almost every climb record in the 1970s.

A tactical bomber that could also serve as a fighter. The Aardvark had 'swing wings': at low speed the wings were spread wide for more lift, and at high speed they swept back for aerodynamics. Although it looked clumsy, it was lightning fast at high altitude.

The Soviet answer to the American F-15. The Su-27 is not only fast but also extremely agile. It was the first aircraft able to perform the famous 'Cobra maneuver' (in which the plane briefly hangs vertically in the air to let a pursuer overshoot).

World-famous thanks to Top Gun. Like the F-111, the Tomcat had swing wings. It was designed to protect the fleet with long-range missiles. Although heavy, its huge engines let it reach speeds that modern fighters (like the F-35) can't come close to.

A Soviet workhorse from the 1970s. It was one of the most produced fighter jets of the Cold War. It was cheap and fast, but also known as tricky to fly. Many Western pilots who later flew captured MiG-23s in secret test programs were impressed by its sheer acceleration.

The most modern fighter on this list. The F-22 is unique because of 'supercruise': it can fly faster than sound (Mach 1.8) without using afterburners. This saves fuel and keeps it invisible to infrared seekers for longer, while it is still faster than almost anything trying to intercept it.