Most Feared Fighter Jets By Generations

YouTube / AmazingViz

AmazingViz has compiled a list of the most feared fighter jets by generation. Here are the top 20 most noteworthy jets that caught our attention:

2nd Generation (Swept Wings, Range-Only Radar, Infrared Missiles)

  • F-100 Super Sabre – The Sabre is the first of the Century Series of USAF jet fighters and was the first fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.
  • MiG-21 – It is still the most-produced supersonic jet fighter in aviation history and the most-produced combat plane since the Korean War.
  • Saab 35 Draken – These were famous because of the โ€œCobra maneuverโ€ or kort parad in Swedish. The maneuver was used to make pursuing fighters overshoot their targets.

3rd Generation (Supersonic Speed, Pulse Radar, Beyond Visual Range Capabilities)

  • F-4 Phantom II – Used extensively during the Vietnam War as the USโ€™ main air superiority fighter.
  • Tu-28 – Tupolevโ€™s long-range interceptor is the largest and heaviest fighter that ever entered service with a length of almost 99 ft and a wingspan of 57 ft.
  • Hawker Siddeley Harrier – This British jet was the worldโ€™s first practical VTOL aircraft.
  • MiG-25 Foxbat – The Foxbat remains one of the fastest manned serially produced aircraft in operational use.

4th Generation (Pulse-Doppler Radar, High Maneuverability, Look-Down/Shoot-Down Missiles)

  • F-14 Tomcat – Replaced the F-4 Phantom and served as the Navyโ€™s primary maritime air superiority fighter, interceptor, and tactical aerial reconnaissance aircraft.
  • F-15 Eagle – Among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat.
  • F-16 Fighting Falcon – Still the worldโ€™s most numerous fixed-wing aircraft in service after serving 25 other nations worldwide.
  • MiG-31 Foxhound – One of the fastest combat jets in the world and is an ideal platform to launch the hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
  • F/A-18 Hornet – It only took 40 seconds for the Hornet to shoot down two MiG-21s with a Sparrow and a Sidewinder during the first day of the Persian Gulf War.
  • Su-27 Flanker – An exceptionally agile plane that is controllable at very low speeds and high angle of attack.
  • Eurofighter Typhoon – Designed to be supremely effective in dogfighting, and is one of the two fighters capable of launching their ordinance while supercruising at supersonic speeds. (The other is the F-22.)

5th Generation (Stealth Capabilities, Integrated Avionics, Supercruise)

  • F-22 Raptor – One of the most sophisticated aerial dominance fighters in the world.
  • Su-35 – High maneuverability (+9g) with a high angle of attack. Can reach a max speed of Mach 2.25.
  • F-35 Lightning II – These can carry 5,700 lbs of internal ordnance and are designed to infiltrate enemy territory like no other. In total, the F-35 can carry up to 22,000 lbs of ordnance externally and internally.
  • Chengdu J-20 – Chinaโ€™s air superiority fighter is the worldโ€™s third operational 5th-Gen stealth fighter after the F-22 and F-35.
  • MiG-35 – First Russian plane fitted with an EASA radar, allowing it to detect targets up to 250 km and track up to 30 targets at any time.
  • Shenyang J-31 – Designed to counter the F-35, US officials still believe that it will likely be more than a match for existing 4th-Gen fighters.

Do you have any more jets you wished made the list? Tell us in the comments below!