Military

The MiG-15 was supplied to China by the Soviet Union in the early 1950s and became a cornerstone of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)....

The F-4 Phantom II entered Iranian Air Force service in the late 1960s under the Shah, as part of a major U.S.-supplied modernization program. Iran...

The A-4 Skyhawk entered service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1970, replacing older fighter and attack aircraft. Operated primari...

The A-4E Skyhawk was used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps as an adversary or “aggressor” aircraft to simulate enemy fighters during training exer...

The P-40B Warhawk was an early variant of the Curtiss P-40 series, entering service with the U.S. Army Air Forces and Allied air forces in 1941. It...

A note from the Author, Andy Marden: This is the tenth edition of USA Military Out of Service. As usual, the main aim is to detail out of service m...

The F-16 Fighting Falcon entered U.S. Air Force service in 1978 as a lightweight, multirole fighter, designed for both air-to-air combat and air-to...

The F-16 Fighting Falcon entered U.S. Air Force service in 1978 as a lightweight, multirole fighter, designed for both air-to-air combat and air-to...

The MiG-21 “Fishbed” entered Soviet Air Force service in the late 1950s as a lightweight, supersonic interceptor and fighter, becoming one of the m...

When Czechoslovakia split in 1993, the newly independent Slovak Air Force inherited a fleet of MiG-21MF and MiG-21UM variants, which became the cou...

The Shenyang J-15 “Flying Shark” is a carrier-based multirole fighter developed by China, entering People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) service in ...

On 13 September 1987, a Soviet Su-27 Flanker collided with a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft over the Barents Sea during an interceptio...

The F-15EX Eagle II is the latest variant of the legendary F-15, developed for the U.S. Air Force as a modernized, cost-effective fighter to comple...

By the mid-1980s, the Marines introduced the AV-8B Harrier II, developed jointly with McDonnell Douglas. It featured a redesigned wing, more powerf...

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, nicknamed the “Thud”, was a U.S. Air Force supersonic fighter-bomber introduced in the late 1950s. Designed to del...

The Spitfire Mk. VIII was a refined variant of the famous British fighter, introduced in 1943 as an improved, long-range development of the Mk. V. ...

The Spitfire Mk. IXc was introduced in 1942 as a stopgap answer to the German Fw 190, which had outclassed earlier Spitfire marks. Based on the Mk....

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the “Warthog”, entered U.S. Air Force service in 1977 as a dedicated close air support (CAS) aircraft. Desig...

The Su-27P is a single-seat, air superiority fighter variant of the Su-27, introduced into Soviet Air Force service in the mid-1980s. It was design...

Australia ordered the General Dynamics F-111C in 1963 to replace its ageing Canberra bombers, seeking a modern long-range strike aircraft. Delivery...

The Spitfire Mk Ia was the first operational production variant of the Spitfire, entering RAF service in 1938. Powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin II...

The F4U-4 Corsair was a late-World War II variant of the famous Vought Corsair, entering U.S. Navy and Marine Corps service in 1944. It featured a ...

The Tomahawk Mk IIB was a British designation for the P-40B/C Warhawk, used primarily by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Commonwealth air forces duri...