List of United States attack aircraft

An AC-130U "Spooky", a type of attack aircraft, over Hulburt Field

This is a list of United States-used attack aircraft, which typically perform tactical bombing and close air support against ground targets.

1924-1962

Name	Role	Manufacturer	Image	Notes	Year of first flight	Introduction	Number built
Douglas XA-2		Douglas Aircraft Company		Converted from a Douglas O-2 in 1926.		N/A	1
Curtiss Falcon		Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company		Family of observation and attack aircraft; composes of the A-3, the main attack version, XA-4, and A-5 and A-6 with more powerful engines.
Fokker XA-7		Fokker-America			1931		1
Curtiss A-8		Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company			1931	1932	13
Lockheed Y1A-9		Detroit Lockheed		A version of the Lockheed YP-24 that specialized in ground attack.	1931		1
Curtiss YA-10 Shrike		Curtiss/Curtiss-Wright			1932	1933	2
Consolidated A-11		Consolidated Aircraft		Production attack version of the Consolidated P-30 fighters.
Curtiss A-12 Shrike		Curtiss				1933	46
Northrop YA-13/XA-16		Northrop		Attack version of the Northrop Gamma. A single example was built as a prototype. It was also known as XA-16 after an engine refit.	Never	N/A	1
Curtiss XA-14		Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company			1935		1
Martin A-15		Glenn L. Martin Company		Proposed attack variant of the Martin B-10; contract fell to the Curtiss XA-14.	Never	N/A	0
Northrop A-17 / Nomad		Northrop				1935	411
Curtiss A-18 Shrike		Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company		Developed from the Curtiss XA-14.	1935	N/A	13
Douglas A-20 Havoc	Medium bomber Attack aircraft Night fighter	Douglas Aircraft Company			1938	1941	7,478
Stearman XA-21		Stearman Aircraft			1938	N/A	1
North American NA-40	Attack bomber			Developed from the North American XB-21 and into the North American B-25 Mitchell.	1939	N/A	1
Douglas SBD Dauntless / A-24 Banshee	Dive bomber	Douglas Aircraft			Unknown	Unknown	~953
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver / A-25 Shrike	Dive bomber	Curtiss-Wright			1940	1942	7,140
Martin A-30 Baltimore	Light bomber /reconnaissance	Glenn L. Martin Company			1941	1941	1,575
Douglas A-33				Developed from the Northrop A-17	Unknown	1941	36
Vultee A-31 / A-35 Vengeance	Dive bomber	Vultee Aircraft			1941	Unknown	1,931
North American A-36	Ground attack/dive bomber	North American Aviation		Developed from the North American P-51 Mustang.	1942	1942	500
Douglas A-26 Invader	Ground attack Light bomber	Douglas Aircraft Company		Originally designed A-26, then designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965 after the Martin B-26 Marauder was retired, then redesignated to A-26.	1942 [1] [2] [3]	1944 [1] [2] [3]	2,503 [2] [3] [4]
Brewster XA-32		Brewster Aeronautical Corporation			1943	N/A	2
Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly		Beechcraft			1944 [5]	N/A	2 [5]
Vultee XA-41	Ground attack	Vultee Aircraft			1944	N/A	1
Curtiss XBTC / A-40	Torpedo/dive bomber	Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company			1945	N/A	2
Convair XA-44 / XB-53		Convair		Project cancelled before two prototypes were built	N/A	N/A	0
Douglas A-1 (AD) Skyraider		Douglas Aircraft Company		Formerly designated AD before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations; served during the Korean War and Vietnam War; had an unusually long career. [6] [7]	1945 [6] [7]	1946 [7]	3,180 [6] [7]
North American A-2 (AJ) Savage	Medium bomber	North American Aviation		Formerly designated AJ prior to the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations.	1948	1950	143 [8]
Vought F7U Cutlass	Naval multirole fighter	Chance Vought			1948	1951	320
Douglas A2D Skyshark	Prototype carrier-based attack aircraft	Douglas Aircraft Company			1950	N/A	12
Douglas A-3 (A3D) Skywarrior	Carrier-based strategic bomber	Douglas Aircraft Company		Largest aircraft regularly operated from aircraft carriers.	1952	1956	282
Douglas A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk	Attack aircraft, fighter, aggressor aircraft	Douglas Aircraft Company / McDonnell Douglas			1954	1956	2,960
North American A-5 (A3J) Vigilante	Carrier-based nuclear bomber /reconnaissance aircraft [9]	North American Aviation			1958	1961	167
Grumman A-6 Intruder	Attack aircraft	Grumman			1960	1963	693

1962 - Present

Name	Role	Manufacturer	Image	Notes	Year of first flight	Introduction	Number built
Douglas AC-47 Spooky	Ground-attack aircraft and close air support gunship	Douglas Aircraft Company		Developed from the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, it itself developed from the acclaimed Douglas DC-3. Succeeded by the Fairchild AC-119 & the Lockheed AC-130. [10] First deployed over Vietnam in 1964. [11]	1964 [12]	1965	53
Bell AH-1 Cobra	Attack helicopter [13]	Bell Helicopter		Developed from the UH-1 Iroquois/ "Huey." World's first dedicated armed attack helicopter. [14]	1965 [15]	1967 [16]	1,116 [16]
LTV A-7 Corsair II		Ling-Temco-Vought		Replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was derived from the Vought F-8 Crusader.	1965	1967	1,545
Fairchild AC-119	Ground-attack aircraft and close air support gunship	Fairchild Aircraft		Replaced the Douglas AC-47 Spooky.	Unknown	1968	52
Lockheed AC-130	Ground-attack aircraft and close air support gunship for SOF teams	Lockheed Martin/Boeing		Modified C-130 Hercules.	1967 (AC-130A) [17] [18]	1968 (AC-130A) [18]	???
Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne	Attack compound helicopter	Lockheed Corporation		Cancelled due to the winding down of the Vietnam War.	1967	N/A	10
Grumman EA-6B Prowler	Electronic warfare/attack aircraft	Grumman		A converted electronic warfare version of the Grumman A-6 Intruder	1968	1971	170
McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk	Fleet air defense / light attack	McDonnell Douglas		Export version of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.	Unknown	1967	20
Bell AH-1 SeaCobra / SuperCobra	Attack helicopter	Bell Helicopter			1969	1971	1,271+
Bell 309 KingCobra	Attack helicopter prototype	Bell Helicopter			1971 (twin-engined)/1972 (single-engined) [19]	N/A	2 [19]
Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker	Armed gunship, counter-insurgency, utility transport	Fairchild Aircraft		Used in the Vietnam War by the USAF and RVNAF. [20]	1971	Unknown	Unknown
Northrop YA-9	Attack aircraft	Northrop Corporation		Developed for the United States Air Force A-X program. However, the YA-9 was dropped in favor of the A-10. [21]	1972 [21]	N/A	2
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II	Close air support attack aircraft	Fairchild Republic		Known for its 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger. [22] [23] First production version was delivered in October 1975. [22]	1972 [23]	October 1977 [23]	716 [24]
McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II	All-weather naval stealth bomber/attack aircraft	McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics (planned)		Planned attack aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps; only entered mock-up stage; originally planned to replace the A-6 Intruder. [25]	Never	N/A	0
Bell YAH-63	Attack helicopter	Bell Helicopter		Competed in and lost the Advanced Attack Helicopter to the AH-64 Apache.	1975	N/A	3
Boeing AH-64 Apache	Attack helicopter	Hughes Helicopters (1975–1984) McDonnell Douglas (1984–1997) Boeing Defense, Space & Security (1997–present)		Winner of the Advanced Attack Helicopter program.	1975	1986	2,700+
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet	Multirole fighter	McDonnell Douglas (1974–1997) Northrop (1974–1994) Boeing (1997–2000)		Used extensively by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.	1978	1983	1,480
Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk	Stealth attack aircraft	Lockheed Corporation			1981	1983	64 (5 YF-117As, 59 F-117As) [26] [27]
Vought YA-7F	Prototype transonic attack aircraft	Ling-Temco-Vought/Vought			1989	N/A	0
LTV A-7P Corsair II		Ling-Temco-Vought		Export LTV A-7 Corsair II for the Portuguese Air Force	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet	Carrier-based multirole fighter	McDonnell Douglas(1995–1997) Boeing Defense, Space & Security(1997–present)		Upgraded version of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Replaced its predecessor and the Grumman A-6 Intruder.	1995	1999 2001 (IOC)	≥632 as of April 2020
Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche	Reconnaissance and attack helicopter	Boeing Helicopters/Sikorsky Aircraft		Stealth helicopter as part of the cancelled Light Helicopter Experimental	1996	N/A	2
Bell AH-1Z Viper	Attack helicopter	Bell Helicopter			2000	2011 (IOC) [28]	195 [28]
Boeing EA-18G Growler	Electronic warfare aircraft	Boeing		Developed from the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.	2006	2009	172 as of October 2021
Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor	Air superiority fighter	Lockheed Martin Aeronautics / Boeing Integrated Defense Systems		Re-designated the F-22 when it entered service in December 2005. [29]	1997	2005 [29]
F/A-XX	Program/project	None		Proposed for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.	N/A	N/A	N/A

References

1. "A-26 Invader – A-26 – Douglas A-26 – Aircraft". Army Air Corps Library and Museum. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
2. "A-26 Invader | Pacific Coast Air Museum | World War II Attack Plane" . Retrieved 2023-12-13.
3. "A-26C Invader". Air Mobility Command Museum. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
4. "A-26B "Invader" – Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum" . Retrieved 2023-12-13.
5. "Factsheets: Beechcraft XA-38". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. 2008. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
6. "A-1H Skyraider". Naval History and Heritage Command - National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
7. "A-1E Skyraider". Hurlburt Field. Retrieved 23 February 2024.^{[ dead link ]}
8. "AJ-2 Savage". Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 15 November 2025.
9. "RA-5C Vigilante". National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
10. "AC-47 Spooky". Hurlburt Field. Retrieved 2024-03-05.^{[ dead link ]}
11. "Gunship I: Spooky". National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 2024-03-05.^{[ dead link ]}
12. "Air Force Armament Museum Foundation" . Retrieved 2024-03-05.
13. "Bell AH-1F Cobra". National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
14. "AH-1W Super Cobra". NAVAIR. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
15. "AH-1W Super Cobra and UH-1N Huey". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
16. Pfau, Nathan (21 December 2017). "Vietnam-era AH-1 Cobra ushered in modern attack fleet". U.S. Army. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
17. "Spectre-Association: History of Spectre" . Retrieved 2023-12-22.
18. "AC-130A Spectre". Hurlburt Field. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
19. Defense Technical Information Center (1972-07-01). DTIC AD0771151: Attack Helicopter Evaluation, Model 309 KingCobra Helicopter.
20. Green, Brian M. (June 2014). "Niche Aircraft Acquisitions: Complex Things Come In Small Packages" (PDF). DTIC. pp. 38–40. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
21. "March Field Air Museum In Riverside, CA - YA-9A, Northrop" . Retrieved 2023-12-27.
22. "A-10C Thunderbolt II". Official Website of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
23. The A-10 Warthog is 50 years old. Why is it still serving?, Imperial War Museum, retrieved 2023-12-12
24. "A-10 Thunderbolt II at the Cradle of Aviation Museum" . Retrieved 2023-12-12.
25. "Department of Defense Procurement Coding Manual: Volume 1" (PDF). DTIC. 1989. p. 51. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
26. "15 years after 'officially' retiring its first stealth jet, the US Air Force is looking for help to keep the F-117 flying for another decade". Business Insider . 2 January 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
27. "Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk". National Museum of the United States Air Force . Retrieved 9 November 2025.
28. "Bell Completes U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Program of Record". News - Bellflight. 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
29. "F-22 Raptor > Fact Sheet". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 30 August 2024.