Top-5 fastest manned aircraft in the world

Aviation has come a long way since the fearless Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903.More than a century has passed since that fateful morning in Kitty Hawk, and since then engineers have created many winged vehicles that can fly higher and faster than Wilbur and Orville Wright could ever imagine.

We present to you 5 fastest manned aircraft in the world according to the news portal Business Insider.

5. XB-70 Valkyrie

The American strategic bomber was developedin the 1950s, and his first flight took place in 1964.The maximum speed of the Valkyrie flight was 3.187 km / h. Due to the development of the Soviet missile defense system and the appearance of new anti-aircraft missiles, the B-70 program was canceled. Two completed prototype XB-70s were used to test high-speed flights. One of them crashed in 1966, and the second successfully flew to retire to the National Air Force Museum.

4. Bell X-2 Starbuster

The experimental aircraft tested between 1953 and 1956 is the brainchild of Bell, the US Air Force and NASA.It was created to study aerodynamic problems arising in supersonic flights with a speed range from M = 2 to M = 3.Bell X-2 reached a speed of 3.380 km / h at an altitude of 19,800 meters above the ground. Although the research program was quickly collapsed because of the collapse of the second prototype, Starbuster still remains one of the fastest aircraft in the world.

3. MiG-25 Foxbat

The top 3 fastest manned aircraft is opened by the Soviet supersonic interceptor and scout MiG-25, presented in 1970.Americans thought that thanks to the large wings it would be a super maneuverable fighter. Instead, the device needed large wings because of its mass( 36.720 kg with 100% fuel level in the inner tanks).The aircraft developed a maximum speed of over 3,000 km / h. The obsolete but reliable "Foxbat" is still used by the air forces of Algeria and Syria.

2. SR-71 Blackbird

"Blackbird" was an advanced reconnaissance aircraft, created during the Cold War. For the development of the device was responsible for the aircraft building company Lockheed in 1960.The serial models were painted with a dark blue paint so that they were not noticeable against the background of the night sky. The dual plane with a futuristic design developed at a speed of 3.540 km / h at an altitude of 24,400 m. The SR-71 first ascended to the sky in December 1964 and has since been considered one of the most successful projects in the field of aircraft technology during the arms race between the USSR and the West. The main maneuver for evading the Blackbird from missiles was acceleration and climb. This aircraft owns 4 records relating to the speed of flight. Even after his "retirement", many believed that the US government could not fully unlock the potential of the SR-71.Given that the military in the 21st century is more interested in unmanned aircraft, parting SR-71 with the sky was inevitable.

1. X-15

The fastest manned aircraft in the world was manufactured by North American Aviation, an American aerospace manufacturer that ceased operations in 1996.The main task of operating the rocketplane was to study the conditions of flight at hypersonic speeds and the entry of winged vehicles into the atmosphere. In the early 1960s, the X-15 set a new speed bar( the maximum was 7.274 km / h).Due to its impressive characteristics, it was used in the space training program. It was attended by the future famous "Lunokhod" Neil Armstrong. Currently, the X-15 is on display in the National Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics and the National Museum of the US Air Force.