United States Air Force: Fighters

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a stealth ground attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force. The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved Initial Operational Capability status in October 1983. The F-117A was "acknowledged" and revealed to the world in November 1988. The F-117 is currently fully retired. The last F-117 to retire made its last flight on August 11th, 2008. The F-117 has many nicknames, the most common being the F-117 Stealth Fighter. For more one the F-117 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F117

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air, tactical bombing, and air superiority fighter missions. The F-35 has three different models; one is the convetional takeoff and landing variant, the second is short takeoff and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier-based variant. The F-35 is planned to enter service in the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps in 2011. The F-35 and F-22 have replaced the F117 Nighthawk stealth Fighter. The F-35 is planned to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Navy F/A-18 Hornet and AV8B Harrier. For more on the F-35 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It is primarily an air superiority fighter, but has multiple capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles. The F-22 entered service in 2003 with its first offical deployment in october 2005. The F-22 as of 2008 has no planned retire ment date. For more on the F-22 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-22_Raptor

USAF Thunderbirds F-16C Fighting Falcons

The Lockheed-Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics. The F-16 is used by the United States Air Force(USAF), the Israeli Air Force(IAF), and 24 other countries. The F-16 is active and is plaanned to be fully replaced in 2025 by the F-35 lighting 2 starting in 2011. The F-16 is also the fighter used by The USAF Thunderbirds who use 6 F-16C Fighting Falcons in their airshow performances. For more on the F-16 and the Thunderbirds go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-16_Fighting_Falcon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Air_Force_Thunderbirds

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing IDS) F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiorty in aerial combat. The F-15s original purpose was to intercept and shoot down the Russian MIG-25 Foxbat (4 kills). The F-15 is used by the United States Air Force(USAF), the Japan Air Self Defence Force(JASDF), the Israeli Air Force(IAF), and the Royal Saudi Air Force(RSAF). The F-15 is undeafted in air to air combat with a kill record of 104 kills to 0 loses. The F-15 is active in service and is planed to retire in 2025 and be replaced by the F-22 Raptor with 178 F-15C Eagles and 224 F-15E Strike Eagles in sevice beyond 2025 to serve along with the F-22. For more on the F-15 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-15_Eagle.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic fighter-bomber. The F-4 was used by the US Navy, US Air Force, and US Marine Corps. The F-4 was in service from late 1960 to 1996. As of now 744 are active in airshows or drones. For more on the F-4 go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_II.