Top 5 Fastest Planes on Earth

Since the Wright brothers invented the airplanes, the aviation industry has come far way. More than 100 years has been passed since that day. Today due to the advanced technology and our capable engineers, the planes can fly much higher with lightning speed that even the Wright brothers would never had imagined.

Here we have enlisted the top 5 fastest planes in the world. Check-out these enthralling videos.

 

5. Bell X-2 "Starbuster"

The Bell X-2 was jointly developed by Bell aircraft corporation, the U.S. Air force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1945. It was a rocket-powered research plane built to investigate aerodynamic issues regarding supersonic speed within the range of Mach 2 to Mach 3.

The X-2 completed its first successful powered flight in 1955. In the next, the plane's control was in the hands of Captain Milburn Apt when X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2094 mph, or 3370 km/h), at an altitude of 65,000 feets. After achieving the top speed, Apt tried to slow it down, but the plane was still moving at Mach 3. The plane lost control and an attempt to recover from the spin failed. This tragic accident ended the X-2 program.

4. MiG-25 Foxbat

The Mig-25 Foxbat was designed to intercept enemy planes at hyper speed to collect reconnaissance data. This plane is listed among the fastest planes on earth till date. It's first flight was made in 1964 and it was used by Soviet Air Defence Forces in 1970.

The plane has incredible top-notch speed of Mach 3.2 (2,190 mph, or 3524 km/h), and it is still used in limited service by Russian Airforce and other nations like Algerian Airforce, Syrian Airforce.

3. Lockheed YF-12

The Lockheed YF-12, developed by Lockheed Corporation during early 1950s and 1960s was a prototype two person aircraft built to intercept the enemy aircraft at Mach 3 speed. The Testing of YF-12 was carried in Area 51, the top secret test and training facility in a remote location of Nevada.

The Lockheed YF-12 have reported to attain the top speed of Mach 3.2 (2070 mph, 3330 km/h) at an altitude of 80,000 feet. U.S. cancelled the YF-12 program, but it was used in the research program till 1978.

2. SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird was also developed by Lockheed during 1960s. The project was known as "Black Project" because it was highly classified. It also had a feature to accelerate and destroy surface-to-air missiles after detecting.

The SR-71 Blackbird attained a top-notch speed of Mach 3.3 (more than 2200 mph, or 3,540 km/h) at an altitude of 80,000 feet. The SR-71 made its first flight in December 1964 by U.S. Air Force during 1964 to 1998. SR-71 was termed as the greatest achievements in aviation technology during Cold War.

1. X-15

The X-15 is a rocket-powered experimental aircraft jointly developed by U.S Air Force and NASA. It can reach the edge of space (an altitude of 62 miles, or 100 km). X-15 holds the records for the reaching the fastest speed by any plane: Mach 6.72, approx. 6.72 times the speed of light (4520 mph, or 7274 km/h).

The X-15 program featured many notable NASA and Air Force pilots including Neil Armstrong, who was the first man to step on Moon. Interestingly, during several test programs, 13 flights by eight different pilots reached an altitude above 50 miles, meeting the U.S. Air Force's standard for spaceflight. Thus, U.S. Air Force pilots have been awarded with Air Force astronaut wings and the civilian pilots were honoured by NASA astronaut wings.

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Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various application development for Android and other operating systems.

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