The United States military has been flying jets since 1946. Autoauctionmall.com has put together a morphing GIF that celebrates many of the major fighter designs, starting with the F-1 Fury and continuing to today’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.Here’s the full list of the aircraft depicted:F-1 Fury F-2 Banshee F-3 DemonF-4 Phantom F-5 Freedom FighterF-6 SkyrayF-7 Sea Dart F-8 CrusaderF-9 Cougar F-10 SkyknightF-11 Tiger F-14 Tomcat F-15E Strike EagleF-16 Fighting Falcon F-17 Cobra F-18 Hornet F-20 TigersharkF-22 RaptorF-23 Black WidowF-35 Lightning IIDesign trends over the decades are easy to pick out. The first aircraft, the F-1 Fury, dates to 1946 and looks like a propeller-driven plane. In the 1950s, aircraft such the F-4 Phantom and F-7 Sea Dart were optimized for speed. The 1970s-era F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle mixed speed with maneuverability, while the F-16, F-17, and F-18 trended towards maneuverability over speed. In the 1990s, the F-22, F-23, and F-35 were the first aircraft to adopt stealthy body shaping characteristics, resulting in sleeker, sharper aircraft designs. Kyle MizokamiWriter on Defense and Security issues, lives in San Francisco.
