The 10 best fighter planes of all time

The best fighter aircraft of all time is the Supermarine Spitfire: the K5054 prototype took off on 5 March 1936, and the Air Ministry ordered 310 on 3 June. More than 20,000 eventually followed. Only 195 F-22 Raptors were built after the type's 1997 first flight, development aircraft included. Between those two figures lies the history of air combat.

The ten aircraft are ranked by achievement and impact, meaning documented combat record, historical influence, international use and the defining technical leap of a type.

Which are the 10 best fighter planes of all time?

1. Supermarine Spitfire

In 1940 the Supermarine Spitfire was the highest-performing Allied aircraft and the only British fighter able to meet the Bf 109E on equal terms. The RAF Museum records both, and that performance puts it at the top. It was also the only British fighter to remain in production throughout the entire war.

Prototype K5054 took off on 5 March 1936. The Air Ministry ordered the first 310 Spitfires on 3 June 1936, and No. 19 Squadron introduced the type on 4 August 1938. K5054 grew into a family of more than 20,000 aircraft. The last operational RAF Spitfire sortie was flown on 1 April 1954, and around sixty examples still fly today.

2. F-4 Phantom II

With 5,195 built, the F-4 Phantom II is the most-produced American supersonic military aircraft in history. The National Naval Aviation Museum records that figure. Second place goes to the Cold War workhorse, which served with naval and land-based air arms alike.

The Phantom first flew on 27 May 1958, then designated F4H. It collected records even before entering service. In December 1959 the second prototype zoom-climbed to more than 30,000 metres; in 1961 a Phantom set the absolute world speed record at around 2,585 km/h. It was the only aircraft flown concurrently by the display teams of the US Navy and the US Air Force. The Phantom was also built under licence. As of June 2025 it remained in service with Greece and Turkey; the United States retired its last machines on 21 December 2016.

3. MiG-21

No supersonic jet in aviation history was built in greater numbers than the MiG-21: the Soviet Union alone produced more than 10,000 before production ended in 1985. Over 50 countries used variants of the type, and that spread secures third place.

The type first flew in 1955; some variants served well into the 21st century. In Southeast Asia it proved a fast and agile opponent of the F-4, as the National Museum of the US Air Force records. India showed how long-lived the type was. It introduced the MiG-21 in 1963; after sixty-two years of service, it retired the last aircraft at Chandigarh on 26 September 2025. The unmistakable delta-wing outline defined the image of the jet age like few other shapes.

4. F-86 Sabre

The F-86 Sabre was the first US swept-wing jet fighter and could counter the MiG-15 over Korea. According to Boeing, 8,683 were built, making it the most-produced jet fighter in the Western world. Fourth place for the fighter that shaped the first air war of the jet age.

The prototype flew on 1 October 1947. On 15 September 1948 an F-86A set its first official world speed record at 1,080 km/h. Over Korea the US Air Force initially reported a kill ratio of ten to one against the MiG-15; its own post-war review halved that figure to about five to one. Later versions served as day fighters, fighter-bombers and interceptors; Bolivia retired the last military Sabres in 1994.

5. F-16 Fighting Falcon

More than 2,100 F-16s remain in active service in 2026, more than any other combat aircraft type. The compact multirole fighter holds fifth place. Twenty-five countries beyond the United States have procured the type, and the latest Block 70/72 configuration remains in production.

The official first flight took place on 2 February 1974. A high-speed taxi test had already produced an unplanned short flight on 20 January 1974; the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center documents both events. Lockheed Martin reported delivery of the 4,600th F-16 in July 2024. A defining mission came early: on 7 June 1981, eight Israeli F-16s destroyed the Iraqi reactor at Osirak in Operation Opera.

6. F-15 Eagle

The Eagle is credited with more than 104 aerial victories without a single air-to-air loss. That record earns it sixth place. More than 1,500 aircraft were built, according to the US Air Force.

The F-15 first flew on 27 July 1972, as the Boeing history records. In early 1975 the stripped-down record aircraft “Streak Eagle” took a series of time-to-climb world records within two weeks; the first F-15 aerial victory was scored by the Israeli Air Force in 1979. Multirole variants later grew out of the air-superiority fighter, and the line lives on today in new production as the F-15EX Eagle II.

7. Su-27

Designed as the direct Soviet answer to the F-15 and F-14, the Su-27 took several time-to-climb world records from the F-15. Some of them still stand. The progenitor of the entire Flanker family ranks seventh.

The first prototype, T-10-1, took off on 20 May 1977, as Rostec records; the design was extensively reworked after the first flights. About 680 Su-27s of the basic version were built, not counting later derivatives. The record-breaking P-42 climbed to 3,000 metres in 25.4 seconds in October 1986. In 1989 test pilot Viktor Pugachev first demonstrated the manoeuvre now named the “Cobra” at Le Bourget. The big twin-engine fighter combined a range of 3,530 kilometres with pronounced agility; the Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 all grew from it.

8. Messerschmitt Me 262

Around 150 km/h faster than any Allied fighter over Europe: the Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter. Only about 300 of the 1,443 aircraft built reached combat, according to the Smithsonian. As the aircraft that opened the jet age, it nonetheless takes eighth place.

It first flew on 18 April 1941 with a piston engine; the first flight solely under jet power followed on 19 July 1942. The first regular jet fighter operations began on 3 October 1944. The Smithsonian attributes the delays mainly to difficult engine development; Hitler's bomber demand alone therefore does not explain the aircraft's late arrival in combat. Only museum airframes survive today, and the only flying examples are modern reproductions with present-day engines.

9. F-22 Raptor

The F-22 was the first operational aircraft to combine stealth, supersonic flight without afterburner, high manoeuvrability and integrated avionics in one airframe. The National Museum of the US Air Force describes this combination as the core of its role. That technical leap places the Raptor in ninth place.

The F-22 first flew on 7 September 1997. According to the US Air Force, 195 Raptors were built, including eight development aircraft, with 187 intended for the operational inventory. The F-22 was never exported: US law has barred its sale abroad in every budget act since 1998. The last aircraft was delivered on 2 May 2012. Its first air-to-air kill came only on 4 February 2023, against a Chinese surveillance balloon off the US east coast. The fleet remains in service with ongoing upgrades.

10. Hawker Siddeley Harrier

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier was the first operational V/STOL combat aircraft and the only truly successful design of its kind in its era. With 278 first-generation aircraft the Harrier remained a niche presence; its last place is nonetheless an honourable one.

The Kestrel predecessor flew on 7 March 1964, as the RAF Museum records. The production Harrier GR1 followed on 28 December 1967 and entered RAF service in July 1969. The first Hawker Siddeley generation comprised 278 aircraft. The Pegasus engine directed thrust through four rotating nozzles and allowed take-offs from short strips and small decks. The Daily Mail transatlantic air race showed what that meant in May 1969: a Harrier linked central London and Manhattan, with aerial refuelling, in 6 hours and 11 minutes. In the 1982 Falklands War, squadrons of the related naval Sea Harrier scored 20 aerial victories without an air-to-air loss.

How did propellers, jet engines, multirole design and stealth change air combat?

Four transitions reshaped air combat: mature piston fighters, higher speed through jet propulsion, flexible multirole platforms, and the combination of stealth with networked sensors. Some of these steps increased the distance at which an opponent could be detected and engaged. Others expanded the number of missions a single aircraft type could perform.

The Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109 represented the mature piston fighter, while the Me 262 and F-86 marked the jet transition. The F-4, F-16, Su-27 and F-15 expanded range, sensors and role flexibility.

With the F-22, low observability, information advantage and sensor integration moved to the foreground. The widespread generation labels are an industry convention rather than a uniform technical standard: BAE Systems notes that the term “fighter generation” was coined only in the 1990s.

What is the difference between the F-22, F-35 and Eurofighter?

Most present-day comparisons centre on the F-22, F-35 and Eurofighter; of that trio, only the F-22 makes the top 10. The F-22 is primarily a stealth air-superiority fighter, the F-35 a sensor-rich stealth multirole fighter, and the Eurofighter an agile European multirole jet. All three combine modern sensors and data processing, but they set different priorities in stealth, range, weapons, cost and user base.

The F-22 was never exported; its sale abroad has been barred by law since 1998. For the F-35A, the US Air Force highlights stealth, sensor fusion and situational awareness as defining features. The Eurofighter is the European design of the three; its first development aircraft took off on 27 March 1994, according to the Eurofighter programme.

Fighters and bombers: different primary roles

Not every famous military aircraft is a fighter: bombers such as the B-17 Flying Fortress are deliberately absent from the top 10. The B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber and flew in every combat theatre of the Second World War; its most significant area of operations was Europe. The Avro Vulcan was a British delta-wing bomber of the post-war years and later served in a conventional NATO role. Fighters and interceptors such as the Spitfire, MiG-21 and F-86, by contrast, fought other aircraft as their primary role.

The Republic F-84 Thunderjet sat between these roles: it flew as a day fighter, escort fighter and fighter-bomber, but earned its greatest reputation in ground attack during the Korean War.

The Bf 109, Spitfire and Me 262 compared

One famous name is missing from the top 10: the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Spitfire's great adversary. Its first prototype flew in September 1935, and about 21,000 G-series aircraft alone had been built by the end of 1944. That total places the Bf 109 among the most-produced combat aircraft, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The Spitfire took off around half a year after the Bf 109 and passed 20,000 aircraft built. The Me 262 made the move to pure jet power in 1942 and remained far rarer, at 1,443 aircraft.

What did Churchill say about the pilots of the Battle of Britain?

In the Battle of Britain the Spitfire made its name; the same battle produced the line about its pilots that still resonates today. Winston Churchill said on 20 August 1940: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” He was speaking first about British airmen as a whole and then, more specifically, about fighter pilots.

The words came during the House of Commons debate “War Situation” and appear in Hansard for 20 August 1940, column 1167, as part of Churchill's tribute to the Royal Air Force.

Frequently asked questions about fighter planes

Little more than six decades separate the Spitfire's first flight in 1936 from the F-22's in 1997. The path led from the piston fighter of the Battle of Britain to a stealth jet with integrated avionics. Readers can follow the same change on land and at sea in the ten best tanks of World War II and the ten best battleships of all time.

Sources

• British aviation history: RAF Museum on the Spitfire, RAF Museum on the Harrier, RAF Museum on the Avro Vulcan and the RAF Museum aviation timeline for 1967 (Harrier GR1 first flight).
• US aircraft and manufacturer histories: the National Naval Aviation Museum on the F-4, Boeing on the F-86, Boeing on the F-15's first flight, the US Air Force on F-15 production, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on the F-16's first flight, Lockheed Martin on the 4,600th F-16, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on the F-22's first flight and the US Air Force on F-22 production.
• Museum data: National Museum USAF on the MiG-21, National Museum USAF on the F-84, National Museum USAF on the F-22, National Museum USAF on the B-17, the Smithsonian on the Me 262 and the Smithsonian on the Bf 109.
• Modern comparison: the US Air Force on the F-35A, Eurofighter on its first flight and BAE Systems on fighter generations.
• Individual type profiles (records, fleets, retirements): Supermarine Spitfire, F-4 Phantom II, MiG-21, F-86 Sabre, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15 Eagle, Su-27, Me 262, F-22 Raptor, Hawker Siddeley Harrier and Sea Harrier (English-language Wikipedia aircraft profiles); plus Rostec on the Su-27, the RAF Museum on the Spitfire I, The Aviationist on India's MiG-21 farewell and Air & Space Forces Magazine on the F-22 balloon shoot-down.
• Quotation: Historic Hansard, House of Commons debate of 20 August 1940.
• Image sources: F-22 formation, US Air Force, public domain, F-4E over Denali, US Air Force, public domain and the F-16 photograph, US Air National Guard, public domain.