--- title: "5 fastest military aircraft in service today" description: "Every Air Force and Navy feels the need for speed and want the fastest military aircraft possible. It's just a fact." date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2022-09-19" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/5-fastest-military-jets-today/" categories: - "Aircraft" - "Tactical" tags: - "Russia" --- # 5 fastest military aircraft in service today ![]() Every Air Force and Navy feels the need for speed and want the fastest military aircraft possible. It's just a fact. When trying to scramble your defending aircraft, time is of the essence and speed is a critical element of that. Aircraft developers have come a very long way since the development of the first jet engine in the mid-20th Century. These days, an airframe that can't cruise at supersonic speeds might as well be a diesel-powered propeller plane. --- It was a long and winding road human engineering took to get to the point where fighter aircraft have the radar cross section of bumblebee. Here are the [fastest]() examples currently in service. ### Boeing X-37 ![]() *Boeing X-37* The Boeing X-37 is an unmanned space drone operated by the U.S. Air Force and boosted into space by NASA. Its mission is to test reusable space technologies, then come back to Earth. On the way down, the X-37 re-enters Earth's atmosphere at an average speed of 16 times the speed of sound, but has come back as fast as Mach 25. ### MiG-25 Foxbat ![]() *MiG-25 Foxbat* The fastest fighter still in service today is the Soviet-built MiG-25. Mikoyan designed this fighter to be a pure interceptor aircraft. As a result, the Foxbat can sustain a cruising speed of Mach 2.8 and kick it into overdrive with a top speed of 3.2 – not a bad technology for an aircraft that first took off in 1964. ### F-15E Strike Eagle ![]() *F-15E provides cover for disabled convoy* The F-15 has been one of the fastest military aircraft flying for more than 30 years and is set to keep going. The reason is just good design, another aircraft initially designed to catch incoming enemies and destroy them. The [F-15]() can fly at a top speed of 3,017 miles per hour, then stop, hit ground targets, and fade away. ### MiG-31 Foxhound ![]() *MiG-31 Foxhound* When the Russians needed something that could try to chase down the vaunted SR-71 Blackbird, they called up the MiG-21 and its Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The only problem is that it doesn't handle as well as its predecessor, the MiG-25. With a top speed of 2,993 miles per hour, it also isn't as fast. ### Sukhoi SU-27 ![]() *Su-27* The Su-27 is a heavy fighter, designed to be the Soviet Union's answer to the F-15 program. First flown in 1977, it's still used by a handful of different countries, and is relied on for its 2,496 miles per hour top speed. The United States even has four SU-27 aircraft it uses to train pilots. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()