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Maximum speed ranking

Fastest Cold War Aircraft

Compare published maximum speeds for Cold War aircraft in the current source-backed dataset. Values use comparable maximum-speed claims and show when a representative variant supplies the figure.

14
Eligible Aircraft

14 of 17 Aircraft have comparable published maximum speed values in the approved dataset.

Eligible Aircraft
14
Scope total
17
Coverage
82.4%
Methodology scope
All eligible

Rows identify whether each value comes from an approved family claim or configured representative variant.

Complete eligible list

Ranked Aircraft

All 14 eligible aircraft ranked by maximum speed.
RankAircraftValueScopeEraCountrySource
01Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-232,499 km/h1,553 mphRepresentative variant: MiG-23MLDCold WarSoviet UnionMiG-23MLDPima Air & Space Museum
02Convair F-106 Delta Dart2,454 km/h1,525 mphFamilyCold WarUnited StatesConvair F-106A Delta DartNational Museum of the United States Air Force
03Republic F-105 Thunderchief2,237 km/h1,390 mphRepresentative variant: F-105DCold WarUnited StatesRepublic F-105D ThunderchiefNational Museum of the United States Air Force
04Lockheed F-104 Starfighter2,124 km/h1,320 mphRepresentative variant: F-104CCold WarUnited StatesLockheed F-104C StarfighterNational Museum of the United States Air Force
05Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-212,092 km/h1,300 mphRepresentative variant: MiG-21PFCold WarSoviet UnionMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed-DNational Museum of the United States Air Force
06McDonnell F-101 Voodoo1,762 km/h1,095 mphRepresentative variant: F-101BCold WarUnited StatesMcDonnell F-101B VoodooNational Museum of the United States Air Force
07Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-191,453 km/h903 mphRepresentative variant: MiG-19SCold WarSoviet UnionMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19SNational Museum of the United States Air Force
08Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter1,424 km/h885 mphRepresentative variant: F-5BCold WarUnited StatesNorthrop F-5B Freedom FighterPima Air & Space Museum
09Convair F-102 Delta Dagger1,304 km/h810 mphFamilyCold WarUnited StatesConvair F-102A Delta DaggerNational Museum of the United States Air Force
10North American F-86 Sabre1,102 km/h685 mphRepresentative variant: F-86ACold WarUnited StatesNorth American F-86A SabreNational Museum of the United States Air Force
11Douglas A-4 Skyhawk1,083 km/h673 mphRepresentative variant: A-4ECold WarUnited StatesA-4 SkyhawkNaval History and Heritage Command / National Naval Aviation Museum
12Lockheed F-94 Starfire1,030 km/h640 mphRepresentative variant: F-94CCold WarUnited StatesLockheed F-94C StarfireNational Museum of the United States Air Force
13Northrop F-89 Scorpion1,009 km/h627 mphRepresentative variant: F-89JCold WarUnited StatesNorthrop F-89J ScorpionNational Museum of the United States Air Force
14Republic F-84 Thunderjet998 km/h620 mphRepresentative variant: F-84ECold WarUnited StatesRepublic F-84E ThunderjetNational Museum of the United States Air Force

Eligibility record

Aircraft not ranked

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How this ranking works

Ranking methodology

  • Preferred family-level claims are used first. An explicitly configured representative variant is used only when a family claim is unavailable.
  • Missing or non-comparable values are excluded. No arbitrary variant fallback is used.
  • Canonical units determine order; the table rounds metric and customary display units for readability.
  • Only maximum-speed claims are included. Mach-only and lower-bound values are not treated as exact speed.
  • Source qualifiers and ranking-level warnings are preserved. The ranking covers only Aircraft in the current approved dataset.
  • Publication scope is ALL_ELIGIBLE, including prototypes if they meet the same eligibility rules.

Ranking data is generated from the site's approved source-backed aircraft dataset.

View all published rankings