It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that strike fighter aircraft were established as their own distinct and specialized category. After World War II, military aircraft manufacturers were tasked with engineering combat aircraft that could perform multiple functions, from air-to-air combat, to bombings, and tactical strikes. The crucial step of combining these combat roles into a single platform changed the course of modern military aircraft.
Although the term “strike fighter” was coined during World War II, the aircraft of that period did not fit that designation precisely. Unlike strike fighter aircraft that were originally designed with a multirole focus, WWII fighter-bombers were modified to incorporate additional fighter and bomber features.
Many current strike fighter aircraft were brought into service during the third and fourth generations of fighter jets. The generation of aircraft currently being developed incorporates features of strike fighter aircraft with an emphasis on stealth technology.
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a prime example of a fourth-generation strike fighter aircraft. Developed collaboratively by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, it was introduced into service in 1988. The Strike Eagle is capable of reaching top speeds of over 1,600 mph, making it one of the fastest aircraft in its class.
When it comes to weaponry, the Strike Eagle is equipped with the customary automatic cannon and a variety of air-to-air missiles like Sidewinders and Sparrows. It also features Maverick air-to-ground missiles as standard armament, as well as laser-guided or conventional drop bombs.
To compile a list of the world’s most iconic strike fighter aircraft, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of aircraft from Military Factory, an online database of arms, vehicles, and aircraft used by militaries worldwide. Only post-WWII aircraft that made it out of the prototype phase and had more than 100 units produced in total were included in the list. Supplemental information regarding the type of aircraft, year entered service, country of origin, manufacturer, units produced, top speed, and armament was sourced from Military Factory.
Here are the world’s most iconic strike fighter aircraft:
Westland Wyvern
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Carrierborne strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1953
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Manufacturer: Westland Aircraft
- Total units produced: 127
- Top speed: 382 mph
- Armament: 20mm Hispona cannons, RP-3 rockets, MK15/MK17 torpedoes, conventional drop bombs
A-4 Skyhawk
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Type: Carrierborne strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1956
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft
- Total units produced: 2,960
- Top speed: 645 mph
- Armament: 20mm Mk 12 automatic internal cannons, Sidewinder missiles, Bullpup missiles, Maverick missiles, Shrike anti-radiation missiles, Walleye glide drop bombs, LAU-10 rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
Fiat Aeritalia G.91 (Gina)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia
- Type: Jet-powered fighter-bomber aircraft
- Year entered service: 1958
- Country of origin: Italy
- Manufacturer: Fiat Aviazone
- Total units produced: 770
- Top speed: 668 mph
- Armament: 12.7mm Browning M2 machine guns, 30mm DEFA cannons, conventional drop bombs, rocket pods
Su-7 (Fitter-A)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Fighter-bomber aircraft
- Year entered service: 1959
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi
- Total units produced: 1,847
- Top speed: 715 mph
- Armament: 30mm NR internal automatic cannon, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, nuclear bombs
F-4 Phantom II
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Type: Carrierborne multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1960
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
- Total units produced: 5,195
- Top speed: 1,473 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan internal cannon, Sparrow, Sidewinder, Skyflash, Python 3, Maverick, Shrike, HARM missiles, gun pods, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
J35 Draken (Dragon / Kite)
- Type: Multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1960
- Country of origin: Sweden
- Manufacturer: Saab
- Total units produced: 644
- Top speed: 1,320 mph
- Armament: 30mm ADEN internal automatic cannons, Sidewinder missiles, Falcon missiles, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
F-111 Aardvark
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Long range strategic bomber / tactical strike aircraft
- Year entered service: 1967
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: General Dynamics
- Total units produced: 554
- Top speed: 1,650 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan internal cannon, laser-guided bombs, HARM anti-radiation missiles, Sidewinder missiles, conventional drop bombs
LTV A-7 Corsair II
- Type: Carrierborne strike aircraft
- Year entered service: 1967
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Vought
- Total units produced: 1,569
- Top speed: 659 mph
- Armament: 20mm automatic cannons, Sidewinder missiles, Maverick missiles, rocket pods, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
JA37 Viggen (Thunderbolt)
- Type: Supersonic strike fighter
- Year entered service: 1968
- Country of origin: Sweden
- Manufacturer: Saab
- Total units produced: 329
- Top speed: 1,320 mph
- Armament: 30mm Oerlikon internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Sky Flash missiles, AMRAAM missiles, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
MiG-23 (Flogger)
- Type: Swing-wing strike fighter / interceptor aircraft
- Year entered service: 1970
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich
- Total units produced: 5,047
- Top speed: 1,553 mph
- Armament: 23mm GSh internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
Su-17 / Su-20 / Su-22
Source: Public domain / Wikimedia commons
- Type: Strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1970
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi
- Total units produced: 2,867
- Top speed: 718 mph
- Armament: 30mm NR autocannons, conventional drop bombs, napalm, laser-guided bombs, rocket pods, gun pods, air-to-surface missiles, air-to-air missiles
SEPECAT Jaguar
- Type: Strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1973
- Country of origin: France
- Manufacturer: SEPECAT
- Total units produced: 543
- Top speed: 1,056 mph
- Armament: 30mm ADEN internal cannons, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rocket pods, Martel missiles, conventional drop bombs, precision guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles, Magic missiles
Su-24 (Fencer)
- Type: Long-range strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1974
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi
- Total units produced: 1,400
- Top speed: 1,439 mph
- Armament: 23mm GSh internal cannon, Aphid missiles, Archer missiles, Kerry missiles, Kyle missiles, Kingbolt missiles, Krypton missiles, rocket pods, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
Yak-38 (Forger)
Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr
- Type: Carrierborne vertical take-off and landing strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1976
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: Yakovlev
- Total units produced: 231
- Top speed: 723 mph
- Armament: 23mm GSh gunpods, Aphid missiles, Kerry missiles, general purpose bombs, incendiary bombs, nuclear bombs
BAe Sea Harrier
- Type: Carrierborne short take-off and vertical landing strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1978
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Manufacturer: British Aerospace Systems
- Total units produced: 118
- Top speed: 734 mph
- Armament: 30mm ADEN cannons, Matra rocket pods, Sidewinder missiles, anti-radiation missiles, conventional drop bombs, Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, R550 Magic missiles
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Source: usairforce / Flickr
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1978
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin
- Total units produced: 4,604
- Top speed: 1,317 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61A1 internal automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Maverick missiles, Penguin missiles, cluster munitions, laser-guided bombs
Mirage 2000
- Type: Multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1979
- Country of origin: France
- Manufacturer: Dassault Aviation
- Total units produced: 611
- Top speed: 1,453 mph
- Armament: 30mm DEFA internal cannons, Magic 2 missiles, Matra missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, cluster munitions, Armat missiles, anti-radar missiles, nuclear stand-off missiles
J-8 / J-8 II (Finback)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1980
- Country of origin: China
- Manufacturer: Aviation Industry Corporation of China
- Total units produced: 325
- Top speed: 1,453 mph
- Armament: 23mm cannon, air-to-air missiles, rocket pods, air-to-surface missiles, conventional drop bombs
F/A-18 Hornet
Source: usairforce / Flickr
- Type: Carrierborne strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1983
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing / Northrop
- Total units produced: 1,480
- Top speed: 1,190 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Maverick missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, laser-guided bombs
AV-8B Harrier II
Source: Public Domain via my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Type: Short take-off and vertical landing strike aircraft
- Year entered service: 1985
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing / BAe Systems
- Total units produced: 500
- Top speed: 665 mph
- Armament: 25mm GAU-12 automatic cannon, laser-guided bombs, Maverick missiles, Harpoon missiles, cluster munitions, Sidewinder missiles, joint direct munitions
F-15E Strike Eagle
- Type: Strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1988
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing
- Total units produced: 420
- Top speed: 1,653 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61A1 internal cannon, Sparrow missiles, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Maverick missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
KF-16 Fighting Falcon
Source: Public Domain / Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1991
- Country of origin: South Korea
- Manufacturer: Korean Aerospace Industries
- Total units produced: 140
- Top speed: 870 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61 Vulcan internal cannon, Sidewinder missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rocket pods, cruise missiles, conventional drop bombs, precision guided bombs
JH-7 (Flounder) / FBC-1 (Flying Leopard)
- Type: Strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1992
- Country of origin: China
- Manufacturer: Xian Aircraft Industry Corporation
- Total units produced: 240
- Top speed: 1,118 mph
- Armament: 23mm GSh internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-radiation missiles, conventional drop bombs
Su-30 (Flanker-C)
Source: scaliger / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Type: Air superiority strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1996
- Country of origin: Russia
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi Design Bureau
- Total units produced: 635
- Top speed: 1,317 mph
- Armament: 30mm GSh internal automatic cannon, Alamo missiles, anti-radiation missiles, laser-guided missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, conventional drop bombs
JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin)
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1997
- Country of origin: Sweden
- Manufacturer: Saab
- Total units produced: 247
- Top speed: 1,370 mph
- Armament: 27mm Mauser internal automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Sky Flash missiles, Meteor missiles, MICA missiles, Maverick missiles, cluster bombs, rocket pods, conventional drop bombs
F/A-18 Super Hornet
- Type: Carrierborne strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 1999
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing
- Total units produced: 615
- Top speed: 1,187 mph
- Armament: 20mm M61A1 Vulcan automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, Maverick missiles, rocket pots, laser-guided bombs, cluster munitions
Rafale
Source: Andrew_Harker / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2001
- Country of origin: France
- Manufacturer: Dassault Aviation
- Total units produced: 201
- Top speed: 1,383 mph
- Armament: 30mm GIAT internal automatic cannon, MICA missiles, Meteor missiles, nuclear stand-off missiles, Exocet missiles, laser-guided missiles, rocket pods, air-launched cruiser missiles
Typhoon (EF2000)
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2003
- Country of origin: Germany
- Manufacturer: BAe Systems / Eurofighter GmbH
- Total units produced: 570
- Top speed: 1,550 mph
- Armament: 27mm Mauser internal automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Meteor missiles, Storm Shadow missiles, laser-guided bombs, Harm missiles, Penguin missiles, joint direct attack munitions
JF-17 Thunder
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Type: Multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2007
- Country of origin: Pakistan
- Manufacturer: Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
- Total units produced: 132
- Top speed: 1,218 mph
- Armament: 23mm GSh internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, Sidewinder missiles, Exocet missiles, Matra missiles, cluster munitions, guided bombs
J-16 (Red Eagle)
- Type: Fourth generation multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2013
- Country of origin: China
- Manufacturer: Shenyang Aircraft Company / Aviation Industry Corporation
- Total units produced: 105
- Top speed: 1,522 mph
- Armament: 30mm GSh internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, conventional drop bombs, laser-guided bombs, rocket pods, anti-ship missiles, anti-radiation missiles
Su-34 (Fullback)
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Type: Long-range strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2014
- Country of origin: Russia
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi
- Total units produced: 134
- Top speed: 1,367 mph
- Armament: 30mm GSh internal cannon, Archer missiles, Uran missiles, Moskit missiles, Ovod missiles, rocket pods, guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
Su-35 (Flanker-E / Super Flanker)
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Type: Multirole strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2014
- Country of origin: Russia
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi
- Total units produced: 130
- Top speed: 1,491 mph
- Armament: 30mm GSh internal automatic cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs, anti-radiation missiles, rocket pods
F-35 Lightning II
- Type: Fifth generation strike fighter / fighter-bomber aircraft
- Year entered service: 2016
- Country of origin: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin / Northrop Grumman
- Total units produced: 785
- Top speed: 1,199 mph
- Armament: 25mm GAU-12/U, Sidewinder missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, Paveway II/III guided bombs, Rockeye II cluster bombs, joint direct attack munitions
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