Boeing QF-16
Overview 📷 Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. J. Scott Wilcox (public domain) The Boeing QF-16 is an […]
2000s-Present: 5th & 6th Generation
The modern era: F-22 and F-35 sensor-fusion fighters, China and Russia join the stealth club, and sixth-generation programs race toward the 2030s.
AVIC WZ-8
Overview 📷 Photo: WZ-8 at Airshow China (Zhuhai) 2022, via Wikimedia Commons The AVIC WZ-8 (Wuzhen-8, 无侦-8) is an uncrewed,
KAI T-50 Golden Eagle
South Korea’s F-16-derived supersonic trainer — and now a credible light fighter export (FA-50) flying in Poland, the Philippines, and beyond.
Boeing F-15EX Eagle II
The 2020s rebirth of the Eagle — more hardpoints than any tactical fighter in service, hypersonic-missile carriage, and the EPAWSS suite.
Xian H-20
The mysterious Chinese flying-wing strategic bomber program — the PLA Air Force’s answer to the B-2 and B-21, still officially unrevealed but flying behind the scenes.
Boeing X-32
Boeing’s losing entry in the Joint Strike Fighter competition — a chin-intake delta-wing demonstrator that flew 1.6 Mach but lost to the X-35 in 2001.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin
Overview 📷 Photo: Wikimedia Commons / JASDF The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin (心神, meaning “mind” or “spirit”), formerly known as the
Hindustan AMCA
Overview 📷 Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Aero India 2021 The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India’s planned fifth-generation fighter
TAI TF-X Kaan
Overview 📷 Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Turkish Aerospace Industries The TAI Kaan (formerly TF-X) is Turkey’s ambitious fifth-generation stealth air
HESA Kowsar
Overview 📷 Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Iranian Ministry of Defence The HESA Kowsar is an Iranian fighter jet based on