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The Best Military Airplanes

The history of military aviation is filled with amazing airplanes; machines of war that have redefined the rules of air combat and have changed the course of wars. While each era in flight has had its champions, there have been a few aircraft through history which have been truly remarkable either for their ability to perform their role above and beyond their peers, or because they continued to adapt to service demands for decades, or both.

The P-51 Mustang
- The P-51 Mustang
  
  The P-51 Mustang, according to Ace Pilots, is "...considered the best fighter of World War II." It was delivered to the military in October of 1941 as the allied forces struggled to find an interceptor which could guard strategic bombing sorties deep into Germany. Over the course of its life 15,100 P-51s were produced in several variants, but they all had something in common: a long range, speed, maneuverability and firepower. The final variant of the plane, the P-51D, could reach 440 mph and carried six .50-caliber machine guns. The pilot sat in a cockpit covered by a novel bubble canopy which provided unprecedented visibility. The P-51 served throughout World War II and into the jet era of the 1950s. Their last combat use was in the 1969 war between Honduras and El Salvador.
The C-130
- A C-130 parked behind a row of fighters.
  
  The C-130 Hercules is a venerable workhorse of the air and the most successful military aircraft of all time, according to TerraDaily. It was originally conceived of, and is continuing to be used as, a transport; variants of the C-130 perform as ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling platforms, command-and control planes, electronic warfare platforms and more. The adaptability of the C-130's airframe has resulted in a continual service life dating back to 1956. The only other military aircraft with as long a history is the much more specialized B-52 heavy bomber. The C-130 is the most widely used military aircraft in the world, in service with more than 60 countries.
The SR-71
- The SR-71
  
  The SR-71 "Blackbird" was conceived to fill a single role: to provide high-altitude surveillance on Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War. The plane performed admirably, and was called "the most impressive military jet every built" by Paul Crickmore in "Lockheed SR-71: Secret Missions Exposed." The SR-71 excelled in its role, flying to high and too fast for missile or fighter plane interception. During the two and a half decades of its use, no SR-71 was ever lost to enemy action The SR-71 was introduced in 1966 and, as of this article's publication, still holds the speed and height records for production airplanes; on July 28, 1976 it achieved a speed of 2,194 mph. The SR-71 was officially decommissioned in 1990 but several were temporarily re-commissioned in the 1990s.
The F-16
- An F-16 in the foreground.
  
  The F-16 Fighting Falcon was designed as an economical, reliable, and maneuverable multi-role, single-seat aircraft. In all of these roles the Federation of American Scientists declared it "by any standard, a success." A capable interceptor and ground-attack vehicle, the F-16 is in use by 26 different air forces. The F-16 uses fly-by-wire controls to help pilots control the agile plane; in that system the pilot moves the control stick and the plane's computer makes adjustments it deems necessary in order to more smoothly control the aircraft.

Aviation