One Airplane in 1909, Then Everything After It
U.S. military aviation began with a single Wright biplane and a Signal Corps unit of three men. What follows is every major milestone in order, from that first purchase to the unveiling of the B-21 Raider.
The United States has rarely led in first flights. It entered World War I with no combat-worthy aircraft of its own design and had to borrow fighters from France and Britain. What it has done, repeatedly, is out-produce and then out-develop rivals once committed: roughly 300,000 aircraft built in World War II, the first practical long-range escort fighter, the first operational stealth aircraft, and the first fifth-generation fighter.
The milestones below are drawn from the fact sheets and histories of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Air Force Historical Support Division, and the Congressional Research Service.
Every Milestone, 1907 to Today
Sources & Further Reading
- Fact Sheets: Aircraft (full index), National Museum of the United States Air Force
- The 1909 Wright Military Flyer, Smithsonian Institution
- The United States Air Force: origins and early history, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- SR-71 Blackbird history and imagery, NASA
- The U-2 (Dragon Lady) reconnaissance aircraft, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- P-51 Mustang, B-17, B-29, and World War II aircraft profiles, National Museum of the United States Air Force
- The F-86 Sabre and the air war over Korea, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- B-52 Stratofortress fact sheet, U.S. Air Force
- F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fact sheets, U.S. Air Force
- F-22 Raptor fact sheet, U.S. Air Force
- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program: sustainment and cost estimates, U.S. Government Accountability Office
- The Air Force's B-21 Raider Program, Congressional Research Service
- MQ-9 Reaper fact sheet, U.S. Air Force
- Naval aircraft histories: F4U Corsair, F-4 Phantom II, F-14 Tomcat, Naval History and Heritage Command
- History of military aviation and aircraft development, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Stealth technology and the F-117 Nighthawk, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Aircraft specifications, production totals, and combat records vary between sources and are given here as the figures most commonly cited by the U.S. armed services, NASA, and the Smithsonian. Kill ratios and loss figures from Korea and Vietnam in particular remain debated among historians, and the page notes where that is the case.