Timeline

F-15A first flight

The original pure air superiority aircraft, sold on the slogan "not a pound for air-to-ground".

AK-74 adopts the 5.45 mm cartridge

The Soviet response to the Western move to 5.56 mm.

YF-16 first flight

The first flight was unplanned: an oscillation during a high-speed taxi test led the pilot to take off rather than risk destroying the aircraft.

T-10 prototype first flight

Testing revealed serious aerodynamic and structural problems; performance fell short of requirements.

Prototype first flight

F-16A enters service

Leopard 2 enters service

M1 enters service

Redesigned T-10S first flight

Sukhoi abandoned the original design and started again. The T-10S was nearly a new aircraft, and became the production Su-27.

First major combat employment

Israeli Air Force F-16As took part in the strike on the Osirak reactor in Iraq.

Enters service

Future European Fighter Aircraft programme launched

F-16C first flight

M1A1 adopts the 120 mm smoothbore

Replacing the 105 mm rifled gun with the German 120 mm smoothbore, giving ammunition commonality with the Leopard 2.

France withdraws from the European programme

Over leadership and carrier requirements, moving to independent development.

Enters service

France withdraws

Left over leadership and carrier requirements, developing the Rafale alone. Europe has had two same-generation fighters ever since.

Rafale A demonstrator first flight

F-15E first flight

Farnborough debut

Its first public display in the West; the high-alpha manoeuvring drew wide attention.

First public rollout

Revealed at Palmdale, California, after years in which the programme itself was classified.

Delivered to operational units

Public debut at the Paris Air Show

Viktor Pugachev flew the manoeuvre later named after him, giving Western observers their first direct look at its high-alpha control.

First flight

NATO inherits the East German fleet

The West could evaluate and fly against the type for the first time, turning assessments from speculation into evidence.

Enters service

First combat in the Gulf War

Flew Scud-hunting missions above all, validating the second seat and the night navigation pod.

Large-scale combat in the Gulf War

Thermal sights and fire control proved decisive at night and in dust, while the turbine's logistical burden was equally exposed.

YF-22 wins the ATF competition

Selected over the Northrop YF-23 for the Advanced Tactical Fighter programme.

Rafale C first flight

Lead ship commissioned

USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) entered service.

M1A2 enters production

Adding the independent commander's thermal viewer and an inter-vehicle information system.

T-90 enters service

A deep upgrade of the T-72B, originally designated T-72BU.

First combat kill

A U.S. F-16 downed a MiG-25 over the southern Iraq no-fly zone.

M4 standardised

Enters service

First flight

Flight IIA construction begins

Adding a twin hangar and with it full organic anti-submarine aviation capability.

M4A1 adopted

Replacing three-round burst with full automatic and heavying the barrel for sustained fire.

Initial operational capability

First flight of the F-22A

J-11 production begins in China

The start of licensed production, from which an entire Chinese heavy-fighter lineage followed.

First combat employment

Flew round-trip missions from Missouri during the Kosovo campaign, with single sorties exceeding 30 hours.

DD(X) programme launched

Thirty-two ships planned, to replace older destroyers and provide naval gunfire support.

2A6 adopts the L/55 barrel

A 1.3 m longer barrel with a marked gain in penetration.

Carrier variant enters service first

The navy variant preceded the air force's, reflecting the priority carrier requirements held throughout the programme.

X-35 wins the JSF competition

Selected over the Boeing X-32 for the Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Six-nation development agreement signed

Delivered to operational units

T-90A adopts a welded turret

Replacing the cast turret with a welded one, improving internal volume and protection layout.

HK416 introduced

Initial operational capability declared

The 27th Fighter Squadron became the first combat-capable F-22 unit.

First flight of the F-35A

Procurement cut to three

Runaway unit cost led the Navy back to buying Burkes.

First flight

Loss on Guam

Lost on takeoff after moisture in air-data sensors corrupted the flight control computation; both crew ejected safely. The fleet has stood at twenty since.

Production terminated

Procurement capped at 187 production aircraft, far below the 750 originally planned.

Adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as the M27 IAR

Initially bought as an automatic rifle, later expanded to a general infantry rifle.

Fleet-wide conversion to M4A1

The U.S. Army decided to upgrade all M4s to A1 standard, reflecting a reassessment of the need for sustained suppressive fire.

R-77-1 reverts to planar fins

Lattice fins dropped to cut drag and extend range — a design choice overruled by its own successor.

T-50 first flight

First flight

Flew at Chengdu during a visit to China by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, drawing wide attention.

First combat over Libya

The original AK-12 proposal is rejected

A radical redesign turned down on cost and reliability grounds.

RBE2-AA AESA fielded

2A7 delivered

Urban operations package, remote weapon station, and auxiliary power unit.

Delivered to operational units

First combat sortie

Flew its first combat mission during strikes against targets in Syria.

AIM-120D operational

Extended range, improved seeker, and a two-way datalink.

Deployed to Syria

First combat deployment, flying escort and patrol missions.

Production resumed after the Zumwalt class was truncated

With the next-generation destroyer cut to three hulls, the Navy went back to ordering Burkes — a textbook case of "good enough and affordable" beating "most capable".

First operational on the Gripen

U.S. Air Force declares initial operational capability

Lead ship commissioned

LRLAP projectile cancelled

The shrinking buy drove unit price towards a million dollars per round. Both guns have had no ammunition since.

First public appearance at Zhuhai

Two aircraft made a brief flying display — the first close public observation.

Export to China

First deliveries — China's first Russian fighter purchase since the Su-30, and the Su-35's first export customer.

Selected by the German Bundeswehr

Replacing the G36 and ending a long dispute over that rifle's accuracy under sustained fire.

Service entry confirmed

Lead ship launched

Officially designated Su-57

The conservative AK-12 is standardised

Returning to a mechanism close to the AK-74M, with changes concentrated in rails, stock, and selector.

Integration completed on Typhoon and Rafale

Assigned to combat units

Deployed to Syria

Two prototypes deployed briefly, widely assessed as a test and demonstration rather than combat employment.

First combat sortie

Flown by an Israeli Air Force F-35I, ahead of the type's first U.S. combat use.

MiG-35 deliveries begin

A deeply upgraded variant with an AESA radar, though orders have been very limited.

First Block 70/72 rolls out

Fitted with an AESA radar and new avionics; production moved to Greenville, South Carolina, and output grew again after more than four decades.

First series aircraft lost

Crashed during a pre-delivery test flight, delaying the first delivery by a year.

SEP v3 deliveries

Adding active protection, new armour, and an auxiliary power unit. Combat weight passed 73 tonnes.

T-90M deliveries begin

New fire control, panoramic sight, new turret, and enhanced armour.

Lead ship commissioned

Nanchang entered service.

First series aircraft delivered

F-15EX delivered

With an AESA radar, new avionics, and a 20,000-hour airframe. Continuing to buy a heavy fourth-generation fighter in the fifth-generation era is itself a notable signal.

Two-seat J-20S revealed

A two-seat configuration appeared for the first time, widely associated with manned-unmanned teaming.

XM7 selected as the Next Generation Squad Weapon

A 6.8 mm rifle was selected to improve penetration against body armour. Replacement of the M4 has begun, though fleet-wide transition will take years.

First Flight III delivered

With the SPY-6 active array and a new electrical plant, at nearly 9,700 tonnes full load.

First large-scale high-intensity combat

Employed in Ukraine, exposing Western third-generation tanks' vulnerabilities in an environment saturated with drones and anti-tank missiles.

Eighth hull launched

Eight hulls within a few years of the lead ship — the build rate being this class's substantive significance.