Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia

Stealth aircraft

Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection by radar, infrared, sound and sight — from Have Blue and the F-117 Nighthawk to the F-35, the B-21 Raider and the next generation of fighters.

34stealth aircraft
5groups
1962–2024first flight
10countries

About stealth aircraft

Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce the reflection and emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio signals and sound. Their shape sends radar waves away from the radar, radar-absorbing materials cover the skin, weapons are carried inside the aircraft and the engines are hidden deep in the fuselage.

Full-size stealth combat aircraft demonstrators have been flown by the United States (in 1977), Russia (in 2000) and China (in 2011). The Lockheed Have Blue led to the F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth aircraft, followed by the B-2 Spirit bomber and the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters. Today stealth is also used for drones, stealth aircraft and the sixth-generation fighters of the future.

  1. 1962
    Boeing Quiet BirdOne of the first aircraft designed for a low radar returnBoeing · United States
  2. 1964
    Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdThe fastest air-breathing crewed aircraftLockheed Skunk Works · United States
  3. 1977
    Lockheed Have BlueThe first full-size stealth demonstratorLockheed Skunk Works · United States
  4. 1981
    Lockheed F-117 NighthawkThe first operational stealth aircraftLockheed Skunk Works · United States
  5. 1982
    Northrop Tacit BlueNorthrop · United States
  6. 1989
    Northrop B-2 SpiritNorthrop Grumman · United States
  7. 1990
    Northrop YF-23 Black Widow IINorthrop / McDonnell Douglas · United States
  8. 1996
    Boeing Bird of PreyBoeing Phantom Works · United States
  9. 1996
    Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 ComancheThe first stealth helicopterBoeing / Sikorsky · United States
  10. 1997
    Lockheed Martin F-22 RaptorThe first operational fifth-generation fighterLockheed Martin / Boeing · United States
  11. 1997
    McDonnell Douglas X-36McDonnell Douglas / NASA · United States
  12. 1997
    Sukhoi Su-47 BerkutSukhoi · Russia
  13. 2000
    Boeing X-32Boeing · United States
  14. 2006
    Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIThe most-produced stealth aircraftLockheed Martin · United States
  15. 2007
    Lockheed Martin RQ-170 SentinelLockheed Skunk Works · United States
  16. 2010
    Sukhoi Su-57Sukhoi · Russia
  17. 2011
    Chengdu J-20Chengdu Aircraft · China
  18. 2011
    Northrop Grumman X-47BThe first drone to take off from and land on an aircraft carrierNorthrop Grumman · United States
  19. 2012
    Shenyang J-35Shenyang Aircraft · China
  20. 2012
    Dassault nEUROnDassault Aviation · France (Europe)
  21. 2013
    BAE Systems TaranisBAE Systems · United Kingdom
  22. 2019
    Kratos XQ-58 ValkyrieKratos Defense · United States
  23. 2019
    Boeing MQ-25 StingrayBoeing · United States
  24. 2022
    KAI KF-21 BoramaeKorea Aerospace Industries · South Korea
  25. 2023
    Northrop Grumman B-21 RaiderNorthrop Grumman · United States
  26. 2024
    TAI KaanTurkish Aerospace · Turkey
  27. 2024
    Scaled Composites Model 437 VanguardScaled Composites / Northrop Grumman · United States
  28. —
    Boeing F-47Boeing · United States
  29. —
    GCAP / BAE TempestBAE Systems / Leonardo / Mitsubishi · United Kingdom / Italy / Japan
  30. —
    Lockheed Martin SR-72Lockheed Skunk Works · United States
  31. —
    EADS Mako / HEATEADS · Europe
  32. —
    Sikorsky stealth Black HawkSikorsky · United States
  33. —
    Sikorsky Raider XSikorsky · United States
  34. —
    Bell 360 InvictusBell Textron · United States