Timeline

F-15A first flight

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

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.

F-16A enters service

M1 enters service

First major combat employment

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

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.

F-15E first flight

First public rollout

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

Delivered to operational units

First flight

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.

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.

First combat kill

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

M4 standardised

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

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.

X-35 wins the JSF competition

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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 combat sortie

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

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.

SEP v3 deliveries

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

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.

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.