Military Aircraft in Flight

Powerful images depicting various military aircraft, including bombers and reconnaissance planes flying in dynamic settings.

NASA X-33 RLV REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE SPACE TRAVEL PROTOTYPE JET EXHAUST FLAME TRIANGLE SHAPE

DF-SC-82-11329. Country: Unknown

1986 B1 Bomber at sunset in Southern California

An air-to-air right front view of an F-4 Phantom II aircraft, with an AQM-37C air-launched missile target attached to its undercarriage, flying over the Pacific Missile Test Center Range. Base: Naval Air Station, Point Mugu State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DF-ST-87-03770. Country: West Germany (FRG)

Space Shuttle Atlantis on Top of 747

A right side view of a B-1 bomber aircraft in flight during testing and evaluation. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA X-33 RLV REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE SPACE TRAVEL PROTOTYPE JET EXHAUST FLAME TRIANGLE SHAPE

An air-to-air left side view of a B-1B bomber with an F-111 aircraft following behind. This is the first flight in four years for this particular B-1B. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The NASA SR-71A successfully completed its first cold flow flight as part of the NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California on March 4, 1998.During a cold flow flight, gaseous helium and liquid nitrogen are cycled through the linear aerospike engine to check the engine's plumbing system for leaks and to check the engine operating characterisitics. Cold-flow tests must be accomplished successfully before firing the rocket engine experiment in flight.The SR-71 took off at 10:16 a.m. PST. The aircraft flew for one hour and fifty-seven minutes, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.58 before landing at Edwards at 12:13 p.m. PST."I think all in all we had a good mission today," Dryden LASRE Project Manager Dave Lux said.Flight crew member Bob Meyer agreed, saying the crew "thought it was a really good flight." Dryden Research Pilot Ed Schneider piloted the SR-71 during the mission.Lockheed Mart

A Soviet A-40 Albatross amphibian aircraft passes overhead while on a demonstration flight at the 1991 Paris Air Show.. Base: Paris Country: France(FRA)

A NASA SR-71 successfully completed its first flight 31 October 1997 as part of the NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.The SR-71 took off at 8:31 a.m. PST. The aircraft flew for one hour and fifty minutes, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 before landing at Edwards at 10:21 a.m. PST, successfully validating the SR-71/linear aerospike experiment configuration.The goal of the first flight was to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics and the handling of the SR-71/linear aerospike experiment configuration. The engine was not fired during the flight.

High angle view of an airplane in flight, E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, US Air Force

USAF KC-10 TANKER AIRCRAFT

An air-to-air right side view of a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft carrying six AGM-86 air-launched cruise missiles on each wing. The aircraft is assigned to the 416th Bomb Wing. Base: Griffiss Air Force Base State: New York (NY) Country: United States Of America (USA)

With the X-43A and its booster rocket tucked under its right wing, NASA's venerable B-52B mothership climbs out after takeoff on its final research mission.

NASA's B-52B mothership, escorted by two F-18s, makes a final flyover after its last research mission that launched the X-43A on its record Mach 9.6 flight.

NASA Space Shuttle Columbia hitches ride on a special 747 carrier aircraft for the flight from Palmdale, Calif., to Kennedy Space Center, Fla

A B-52 Stratofortress aircraft flies overhead near the Air Force Flight Test Center. The Stratofortress is carrying AGM-86 air-launched cruise missiles. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, or UCAV, technology demonstration aircraft in flight during its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

An air-to-air right side view of an F-15 Eagle aircraft. Country: Unknown

Wings of an aircraft, approach to landing, clouds

This photo illustrates how the X-15 rocket powered aircraft was taken aloft under the wing of a B-52.

B-52H over Dryden Flight Research Center

ER-2 (NASA-706) in flight. (Lockheed C81-1197-13)

Military jet bomber Su-24 Fencer flying above the clouds Military jet bomber Su-24 Fencer flying above the clouds. Copyright: xZoonar.com/aarrowsx 10959594

An air-to-air front view of an RC-135 Stratolifter aircraft from the 306th Strategic Wing during a refueling mission over the North Sea. Country: Unknown

H-6K strategic bomber of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force taking off.

An air-to-air right rear view of an F-111 aircraft during testing of B-83 nuclear bomb dummies. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An underside view of a Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211) F-14A Tomcat aircraft as it banks into a left turn. The aircraft is carrying six ATM-54A dummy Phoenix missiles. Base: Naval Air Station, Miramar State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A NASA SR-71 refuels with an Edwards Air Force Base KC-135 during the first flight of the NASA/Rocketdyne/ Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE). The flight took place Oct. 31 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.The SR-71 took off at 8:31 a.m. PST. The aircraft flew for one hour and fifty minutes, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 before landing at Edwards at 10:21 a.m. PST, successfully validating the SR-71/linear aerospike experiment configuration.The goal of the first flight was to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics and the handling of the SR-71/linear aerospike experiment configuration. The engine was not fired during the flight.

This photo shows one of the X-38 lifting-body research vehicles mated to NASA's B-52 mothership in flight prior to launch. The B-52 has been a workhorse for the Dryden Flight Research Center for more than 40 years, carrying numerous research vehicles aloft and conducting a variety of other research flight experiments.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home takes off from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo will fly south over Brevard Countys beach communities for residents to get a look at the shuttle before it leaves the Space Coast for the last time.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia today, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

During the B-2's fifth test flight it is being refueled by a KC-10. The flight lasted one hour and seventeen minutes. Northrop chief test pilot Bruce Hinds and AIr Force LT. COL. John Small of the B-2 Combined Test Force were at the controls. The test flights were designed to expand the flight envelope, demonstrate the handling qualities of the aircraft while flying in the air refueling position and validate the proper fuction of the aircraft' s subsystems. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Attached to the same B-52B mothership that once launched X-15 research aircraft in the 1960s, NASA's third X-43A performed a captive carry evaluation flight from Edwards Air Force Base, California on September 27, 2004. The X-43 remained mated to the B-52 throughout this mission, intended to check its readiness for launch scheduled later in the fall.

An air-to-air right overhead view of an SR-71A strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The SR-71 is unofficially known as the "Blackbird.". Base: Beale Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

STS030-S-128 (8 May 1989) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis landing gear has just appeared and the spacecraft, with five astronaut crewmembers aboard, heads for a smooth landing on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. Onboard the spacecraft were astronauts David M. Walker, Ronald J. Grabe, Norman E. Thagard, Mary L. Cleave and Mark C. Lee. The crew spend just over four full days in space, having released the Magellan spacecraft toward Venus on the first day.

F-107A on Rogers Dry Lake

An air-to-air left side view of the Bicentennial RF-4B Phantom II aircraft "Spirit of America". The aircraft is assigned to Marine PHOTO Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VMEP-3) Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California. Base: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

AN air-to-air left front view of a YF-12 aircraft. Country: Unknown

Air-to-air left side view of a KC-10A Extender aircraft refueling an F-15A Eagle aircraft above the clouds. State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DN-ST-87-09072. Country: Unknown

The Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour and its crew of six glide in to Runway 15 at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility after spending nine days in space on the STS-72 mission, the first Shuttle flight of 1996.

F-5 and F-15 in Flight

STS080-S-008 (7 Dec. 1996) --- Just prior to dawn, the space shuttle Columbia heads for a landing on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to successfully complete a 17-day mission. Landing occurred just before dawn, at 6:49 a.m. (EST). The landing is the 33rd at KSC for the Space Transportation System (STS). Crew members aboard were astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell, mission commander; and Kent V. Rominger, pilot; along with Story Musgrave, Tamara E. Jernigan and Thomas D. Jones, all mission specialists.

NASA's F-15B research testbed jet from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew in the supersonic shockwave of a Northrop Grumman Corp. modified U.S. Navy F-5E jet in support of the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) project, which is part of the DARPA's Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP) program. The project is an effort to lessen sonic booms.During the recent demonstration, the F-15B flew behind the modified F-5E sonic boom demonstrator aircraft in order to measure the aircraft's sonic boom characteristics.Flying behind and below the F-5E, and using its specially-instrumented nose boom, the F-15B recorded many shockwave patterns from the F-5E at various distances and orientations from the aircraft.

A left underside view of a Soviet An-124 Condor cargo aircraft in-flight. Country: Unknown

Artist's concept of the Space Shuttle Orbiter in return flight. Country: Unknown

US Air ForceF-117 Stealth Figher

A left side view of an SR-71 aircraft from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing landing.

An air-to-air rear view of a KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft with the Advanced Aerial Refueling Boom extended. Country: Unknown

Close-up of a B-2 Stealth Bomber

A C-5 galaxy from Travis AFB, CA, taking off from the deployed location for the operation.(Exact date unknown). Subject Operation/Series: VIGILANT WARRIOR Base: Moron Country: Spain (ESP)

DC-8 Airborne Laboratory in flight

An air-to-air left side view of a B-1B bomber aircraft. Country: Unknown

The HL-10, seen here parked on the ramp at NASA's Flight Research Center in 1966, had a radically different shape from that of the M2-F2/F3. While the M2s were flat on top and had rounded undersides (giving them a bathtub shape), the HL-10 had a flat lower surface and a rounded top. Both shapes provided lift without wings, however. This photo was taken before the HL-10's fins were modified.

AA-1 Arrival at Edwards AFB, Ca.

Artwork: "A-11", Artist: Gordon Phillips. US Air Force Art Collection. Country: Unknown

An air-to-air right underside view of an F-16 Falcon aircraft assigned to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing during a mission out of Hill Air Force Base. State: Utah (UT) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

coastline land and water viewed from above

NASA X-34 RLV REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROTOTYPE FOR EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT SPACE TRAVEL

An artist's concept of a Soviet Victor III class fleet submarine underway while submerged. Country: Unknown

S82-33421 (4 July 1982) --- This spectacular view of the NASA 905 transport aircraft taxiing the new space shuttle Challenger was recorded from a T-38 aircraft as the aircraft were heading for Houston, Texas and a combination meet the Challenger and greet the STS-4 crew ceremony at Ellington Air Force Base. The STS-4 astronauts-Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., were minutes ahead of the tandem in another aircraft. Earlier today they completed a successful week-long stay in space aboard the Columbia. Upon their landing at Edwards Air Force Base, a historical first occurred for NASA and this nation. Three shuttlecraft The Enterprise, Challenger and Columbia were together at one time in the same location. The hardware served as a backdrop for a speech by President Ronald Reagan leading the nation in a special July 4 celebration. Following the stopover in Houston, the Challenger will move onto Florida for processing in preparation for future spaceflights.

Launched on July 26, 2005, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the under side of the spacecraft as i

The first Concorde to land at Dulles International Airport in December 1976, Washington DC

High angle view of an F-117A Nighthawk

DF-SC-88-02439. Country: Unknown

This photograph shows a modified General Dynamics AFTI/F-111A Aardvark with supercritical mission adaptive wings (MAW) installed. The four dark bands on the right wing are the locations of pressure orifices used to measure surface pressures and shock locations on the MAW. The El Paso Mountains and Red Rock Canyon State Park Califonia, about 30 miles northwest of Edwards Air Force Base, are seen directly in the background.With the phasing out of the TACT program came a renewed effort by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory to extend supercritical wing technology to a higher level of performance. In the early 1980s the supercritical wing on the F-111A aircraft was replaced with a wing built by Boeing Aircraft Company System called a mission adaptive wing” (MAW), and a joint NASA and Air Force program called Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) was born.

DD-ST-89-11771. Country: Unknown

Testing autonomous software for AARD program using a NASA F/A-18 #845 following a chartered Sabreliner.

HL-10 Lifting Body

AIM-7F/M SparrowPrimary function: Radar-guided air-to-air missile. Dimensions: Length 12 ft.; diameter 8 in.; wingspan 3 ft. 4 in.

Air to air left side, underside, view of United States Air Force Europe (USAFE) F-4E Phantom carrying two AGM A/6, three AIM 7 missiles and an ECM pod. The aircraft is assigned to the 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Spangdalhem Air Base, Germany. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Unknown

FRENCH WEST INDIES (FWI), Guadaloupe, Grande, Terre: Propeller Plane above Caribbean & Guadaloupe

Air to air view from a tanker of a 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing's SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft on a mission out of its home base, Beale Air Force Base, California. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Unknown

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 7, 2021: Avia parade in Moscow. missile platform Tu-160 in the sky on parade of Victory in World War II in Moscow, Russia MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 7, 2021: Avia parade in Moscow. strategic bomber and missile platform Tu-160 in the sky on parade of Victory in World War II in Moscow, Russia Copyright: xZoonar.com/AlexanderxStrelax 20048701

Long -distance bomber aircraft long -distance bomber aircraft copyright: xzoonar.com/DR.XNORBERBERTXLANGEX 14449742

DN-SN-89-06997. Country: Unknown

The B-2 Spirit of Pennsylvania takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, enroute to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 14, for maintenance. (Air Force photo by Giancarlo Casem)

Die Atombombe fliegt am Himmel. Atomkrieg *** the Atomic bomb flies on Sky Nuclear war 1102810909

NASA Dryden F-18 #843 in flight

ISS011-E-11227 (28 July 2005) --- Space shuttle Discovery approaches the international space station. Discovery docked to the station at 6:18 a.m. (CDT) on Thursday, July 28, 2005 as the two spacecraft orbited over the southern Pacific Ocean west of the South American coast. Onboard the shuttle were astronauts Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 commander; James M. Kelly, pilot; Andrew S. W. Thomas, Stephen K. Robinson, Wendy B. Lawrence, Charles J. Camarda and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all mission specialists.

DF-SC-85-07642. Country: Unknown

DF-SN-85-11890. Country: Unknown

Eclipse program F-106 aircraft in flight, front view..

An airplane

A view of a special F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft nose section mock-up assembled at the Rome Air Development Center Newport Site. The F-16 nose section is being used to study the effect of that portion of the fuselage on the effective transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals. Base: Griffiss Air Force Base State: New York (NY) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An air-to-air left side view of a C-141 Starlifter aircraft from the 710th Military Airlift Squadron, Air Force Reserve. Base: Northern California State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DN-SC-86-06139. Country: Unknown

The United States Air Force Air Demonstration Team Thunderbirds perform a photo chase mission over Navy Air Facility El Centro, Cali., February 26, 2024. The photo chase mission was flown during a low show practice. Air Force

NASA DC-9 in Parabolic Flight

Fighter Jet speeds past at Air Show in Malta

NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory is shadowed by a NASA F/A-18 safety chase aircraft during its second checkout flight near Waco, Texas on May 10, 2007.

XB-70A Valkyrie Taking Off

U.S. Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A cloud swirls behind space shuttle Discovery on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as its wheels make contact with the pavement. Landing of Discovery March 28, 2009, completed the 13-day, 5.3-million mile journey on the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was at 3:13:17 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 3:13:40 p.m. and wheels stop was at 3:14:45 p.m. Discovery delivered the final pair of large power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. The mission was the 28th flight to the station, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 125th in the Space Shuttle Program, as well as the 70th landing at Kennedy. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews, Canon

Air-to-air left side view of a KC-10A Extender aircraft refueling an F-15B Eagle aircraft. State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Military jet flying over winter landscape

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