Covert air operations began in World War I with militaries attempting to reduce the visibility or sound of their aircraft. Technology in this regard has made leaps and bounds since the First World War. Modern stealth technology was originally designed and developed in the 1970s and attempts to conceal aircraft by reducing radar cross section, disguising infrared emissions, or by other methods. Now the current generation of aircraft is explicitly designed around this technology with many more aircraft on the way. (These are the world’s future military aircraft.)
There have only been a handful of planes developed explicitly as stealth aircraft, and then there are even less manufacturers capable of building these stealth aircraft. As such, these are highly sought after by militaries around the world, even if these are not the newest up-to-date stealth models.
To identify the oldest and newest stealth planes in world militaries or on order, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the report 2023 World Air Forces from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website, as well as other sources. We ordered these stealth aircraft, including uncrewed aerial vehicles and aircraft on order, chronologically. Supplemental data regarding the type of aircraft, top speed, manufacturer, and armament came from Military Factory. Data on notable countries that operate these aircraft came from FlightGlobal.
The F-35 Lightning II is one of the most advanced American stealth aircraft to emerge over the last decade. Although its focus is namely on stealth, the Lightning II is still capable of hitting speeds of roughly 1,200 mph.
The F-35 is capable of being outfitted with a variety of air-to-surface or air-to-air missiles as well as precision-guided bombs. Basically, this aircraft is operationally capable of many combat roles and its stealth features make it that much more effective. (These are the 42 most popular fighter jets used in today’s air forces.)
Here is a look at the oldest and newest stealth aircraft in world militaries:
A-12 Archangel
Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr
- Type: High-altitude strategic reconnaissance stealth aircraft
- Year entered service: 1963
- Top speed: 2,212 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed
- Armament: None
SR-71 Blackbird
Source: Lockheed Martin Corp.
- Type: High-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft
- Year entered service: 1966
- Top speed: 2,274 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed
- Armament: None
AQM-91 Firefly
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Reconnaissance drone
- Year entered service: 1968
- Top speed: 505 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Ryan Aeronautical / Teledyne-Ryan
- Armament: None
F-117 Nighthawk
Source: Getty Images / Getty Images
- Type: Stealth strike aircraft
- Year entered service: 1982
- Top speed: 646 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed
- Armament: Laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, Maverick missiles, HARM anti-radiation missiles, Sidewinder missiles
B-2 Spirit
- Type: Strategic heavy stealth bomber
- Year entered service: 1997
- Top speed: 628 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
- Armament: Air-launched cruise missiles, free-fall nuclear bombs, conventional drop bombs, joint direct attack munitions, air-to-surface missiles
J-11 Flanker B+
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Fourth generation air superiority fighter
- Year entered service: 1998
- Top speed: 1,553 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: Shenyang Aircraft Corporation / Aviation Industry Corporation of China
- Armament: 30mm GSh-30-1 internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, cluster bombs, rocket pods
F-22 Raptor
- Type: Fifth generation air dominance fighter
- Year entered service: 2005
- Top speed: 1,599 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin / Boeing
- Armament: 20mm internal automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, joint direct attack munitions, air-launched cruise missiles, guided bombs
RQ-170 Sentinel
- Type: Unmanned aerial vehicle
- Year entered service: 2007
- Top speed: 590 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
- Armament: Undisclosed
J-16 Red Eagle
- Type: Fourth generation strike fighter aircraft
- Year entered service: 2013
- Top speed: 1,522 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: Shenyang Aircraft Corporation / Aviation Industry Corporation of China
- Armament: 30mm GSh-30-1 internal cannon, PL-15, PL-12, PL-9 air-to-air missiles, conventional drop bombs, laser-guided munitions, rocket pods, anti-ship missiles, anti-radiation missiles
RQ-180
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Reconnaissance stealth unmanned aerial vehicle
- Year entered service: 2015
- Top speed: 590 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
- Armament: None
WZ-10 Cloud Shadow
- Type: Stealth unmanned aerial vehicle
- Year entered service: 2016
- Top speed: 390 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
- Armament: Air-to-surface missiles, light cruise missiles, precision-guided bombs
F-35 Lightning II
- Type: Fifth generation strike fighter / fighter-bomber aircraft
- Year entered service: 2016
- Top speed: 1,199 mph
- Notable countries: Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, United States
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin / Northrop Grumman
- 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
J-20 Black Eagle
- Type: Fifth generation multirole stealth aircraft
- Year entered service: 2017
- Top speed: 1,305 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group / Aviation Industry Corporation of China
- Armament: Internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, anti-radiation missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
GJ-11 Gongji
- Type: Stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle
- Year entered service: 2019
- Top speed: 621 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: State Factories
- Armament: Laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, air-to-surface missiles
Su-57 Felon
Source: Dmitry Potashkin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Type: Fifth generation multirole stealth aircraft
- Year entered service: 2019
- Top speed: 1,616 mph
- Notable countries: Russia
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi OKB / United Aircraft Corporation
- Armament: 30mm GSh-20-1 internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, guided bombs
XQ-58 Valkyrie
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Unmanned combat aerial vehicle
- Year entered service: 2020
- Top speed: 652 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Kratos unmanned systems division
- Armament: Precision guided drop bombs, conventional drop bombs
CH-7
- Type: High-altitude, long-endurance stealth combat drone
- Year entered service: 2022
- Top speed: 550 mph
- Notable countries: China
- Manufacturer: Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
- Armament: Air-to-surface missiles, anti-radiation missiles, precision-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
Su-75 Checkmate
- Type: Fifth generation multirole stealth aircraft
- Year entered service: Expected in 2026
- Top speed: 808 mph
- Notable countries: Russia
- Manufacturer: Sukhoi OKB / Rostek State Corporation
- Armament: Internal cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs
B-21 Raider
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Sixth generation long range strategic stealth bomber
- Year entered service: Expected in 2028
- Top speed: 621 mph
- Notable countries: United States
- Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
- Armament: Precision guided drop bombs, conventional drop bombs, nuclear ordnance
Tupolev PAK DA
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Type: Fifth generation strategic stealth bomber
- Year entered service: Expected in 2032
- Top speed: 559 mph
- Notable countries: Russia
- Manufacturer: Tupolev / United Aircraft Corporation
- Armament: Air-launched cruise missiles, precision guided bombs, conventional drop bombs, nuclear ordnance
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