List of active United States military aircraft

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An F-16 Fighting Falcon of the United States Air Force in flight F-16 1.jpg
An F-16 Fighting Falcon of the United States Air Force in flight

The United States Armed Forces uses a wide variety of military aircraft across the respective aviation arms of its various service branches. The numbers of specific aircraft listed in the following entries are estimates from published sources and may not be exhaustive.

Contents

For aircraft no longer in service, see the list of military aircraft of the United States.

Air Force

Army

Coast Guard

Marine Corps

Space Force

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Air Force</span> Air service branch of the U.S. military

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States, along with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey</span> Military transport tiltrotor

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The V-22 is operated by the United States and Japan, and is not only a new aircraft design, but a new type of aircraft that entered service in the 2000s, a tiltrotor compared to fixed wing and helicopter designs. The V-22 first flew in 1989 and after a long development was fielded in 2007. The design combines the vertical takeoff ability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing airplane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton</span> Maritime version of RQ-4 Global Hawk

The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is an American high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed for and flown by the United States Navy and Royal Australian Air Force as a surveillance aircraft. Together with its associated ground control station, it is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program, the Triton is intended to provide real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions (ISR) over vast ocean and coastal regions, continuous maritime surveillance, conduct search and rescue missions, and to complement the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers (NAO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Jacksonville</span> United States Navy air base in Jacksonville, Florida, US

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System</span> Aircraft launching system developed for the US Navy

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is a type of electromagnetic catapult system developed by General Atomics for the United States Navy. The system launches carrier-based aircraft by means of a catapult employing a linear induction motor rather than the conventional steam piston, providing greater precision and faster recharge compared to steam. EMALS was first installed on the lead ship of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, c. 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout</span> 2000s American unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman

The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Armed Forces. The Fire Scout is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The initial RQ-8A version was based on the Schweizer 330, while the enhanced MQ-8B was derived from the Schweizer 333. The larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant is based on the Bell 407.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper</span> American unmanned aerial vehicle

The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF to indicate ground control by humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division</span> Military unit

The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is an Echelon IV command of the United States Navy, reporting to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCTSD is located in Orlando, Florida in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the University of Central Florida (UCF). The facility is a part of a larger military installation within the Central Florida Research Park known as Naval Support Activity Orlando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Marine Corps Aviation</span> Air branch of the U.S. Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps Aviation (USMCA) is the aircraft arm of the United States Marine Corps. Aviation units within the Marine Corps are assigned to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, as the aviation combat element, by providing six functions: assault support, antiair warfare, close air support, electronic warfare, control of aircraft and missiles, and aerial reconnaissance. The Corps operates rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft mainly to provide transport and close air support to its ground forces. Other aircraft types are also used in a variety of support and special-purpose roles. All Marine Corps aviation falls under the influence of the Deputy Commandant for Aviation, whose job is to advise the Commandant of the Marine Corps in all matters relating to aviation, especially acquisition of new assets, conversions of current aircraft, maintenance, operation, and command.

Naval Air Warfare Center is a research organization within Naval Air Systems Command to test and evaluate air warfare for the United States Navy. The center combines the following divisions:

The Next Generation Jammer is a program to develop an airborne electronic warfare system, as a replacement for the AN/ALQ-99 found on the EA-18G Growler military aircraft. It reached Initial Operating Capability in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack</span> Unmanned air vehicle by Boeing Insitu

The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, company name Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine monoplane, designed as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle. The Integrator weighs 61 kg (134 lb) and uses the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing MQ-25 Stingray</span> American military aerial refuelling drone

The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone that resulted from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which grew out of the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. The MQ-25 first flew on 19 September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie</span> Planned stealth unmanned combat air vehicle for the US Air Force

The Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie is an experimental stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed and built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for the United States Air Force's Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program, under the USAF Research Laboratory's Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) project portfolio. It was initially designated the XQ-222. The Valkyrie completed its first flight on 5 March 2019 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

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