Military Special Mission Aircraft
Overview
Comprehensive database of military special mission aircraft. This specialized collection includes detailed technical specifications such as speed, range, payload capacity, and armament options for military special mission aircraft aviation platforms, along with complete operational history and current and past operators worldwide.
| Country | Model | Manufacturer | Produced | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 | DA62 |  |
Diamond | 120 |
Austrian twin-engine, civil utility aircraft, used worldwide for light transport and aerial surveys in the 21st century. |
| 🇨🇦 | DHC-2 Beaver |  |
De Havilland Canada | 1657 |
Canadian utility aircraft, renowned for bush flying since the mid-20th century, widely deployed for civilian and military operations. |
| 🇨🇳 | SH-5 |  |
Harbin | 7 |
Chinese amphibious aircraft, notable for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare, used primarily in the late 20th century. |
| 🇪🇺 | A310 MRTT |  |
Airbus | 6 |
European multirole tanker transport, with significant deployments in aerial refueling and strategic airlift operations. |
| 🇨🇳 | Be-12 Tchaïka Mail |  |
Beriev | 150 |
Soviet amphibious aircraft, operational in Cold War era, mainly in anti-submarine and maritime patrol roles. |
| 🇨🇳 | Il-38 May |  |
Ilyushin | 58 |
Soviet maritime patrol aircraft, deployed during the Cold War, primarily used for anti-submarine and maritime surveillance operations. |
| 🇨🇳 | Il-78 Midas |  |
Ilyushin | 53 |
Soviet aerial refueling tanker, developed in the 1980s, widely involved in strategic, long-range force projection missions. |
| 🇨🇳 | Il-80 |  |
Ilyushin | 4 |
Soviet airborne command post, designed during the Cold War, most notably deployed in strategic air command scenarios. |
| 🇫🇷 | ATL-2 Atlantique |  |
Breguet Aviation | 215 |
French maritime patrol aircraft, operational since the late 20th century, primarily deployed for anti-submarine warfare and surveillance. |
| 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 | X-31 EFM Vector |  |
Rockwell/MBB | 2 |
German-American experimental jet aircraft, known for pioneering in thrust vectoring technology, principally tested during the 1990s. |
| Country | Model | Manufacturer | Produced | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇹 🇺🇸 | AW609 |  |
AgustaWestland | — | Italian-American tiltrotor aircraft, designed for commercial and government purposes, with applications like search and rescue or offshore transport. |
| 🇮🇹 | P2006T |  |
Tecnam | 578 |
Italian light twin-engine aircraft, notably used for training and light transport since the late 2000s. |
| 🇯🇵 | US-2 |  |
ShinMaywa | 8 |
Japanese amphibious aircraft, prominently utilized for air-sea rescue operations, predominantly during the early 21st century. |
| 🇷🇺 | A-50 Mainstay |  |
Beriev | 42 |
Russian airborne early warning and control aircraft, developed during the Cold War to extend radar coverage and coordinate air operations across vast distances. |
| 🇸🇪 | 340 AEW&C |  |
Saab | 12 |
Swedish twin-engine airborne early warning and control platform produced since late 1990s. |
| 🇸🇪 | GlobalEye |  |
Saab / Bombardier | 5 |
Swedish/Canadian airborne early warning and control platform, introduced in 2020, used for airborne, maritime, and ground surveillance. |
| 🇬🇧 | Gannet |  |
Fairey | 303 |
British carrier-borne aircraft, known for its Cold War anti-submarine and airborne early warning services. |
| 🇺🇸 | 707 |  |
Boeing | 865 |
American jet airliner from the mid-20th century, notably used in civil aviation and military transport missions worldwide. |
| 🇺🇸 | 747 |  |
Boeing | 1574 |
American wide-body commercial jet airliner, conceived in the 1960s and renowned for transcontinental and transatlantic flights. |
| 🇺🇸 | AC-130 |  |
Lockheed Martin | 21 |
American gunship, deployed in Vietnam and Iraq wars, known for long duration, low-level ground attack and close air support missions. |
| Country | Model | Manufacturer | Produced | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇹 🇺🇸 | AW609 | |
AgustaWestland | — | Italian-American tiltrotor aircraft, designed for commercial and government purposes, with applications like search and rescue or offshore transport. |
| 🇺🇸 | E-2 Hawkeye |  |
Grumman | 313 |
American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft, significant for its Cold War to contemporary deployments. |
| 🇺🇸 | E-3 Sentry AWACS |  |
Boeing | 68 |
American airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft, principally used in NATO, UK, France, and Saudi Arabia since the Cold War. |
| 🇺🇸 | E-4 NOAC |  |
Boeing | 4 |
American advanced airborne command post, launched during the Cold War, extensively employed for national emergency operations. |
| 🇺🇸 | E-6 Mercury TACAMO |  |
Boeing | 16 |
American command-and-control aircraft, operative during the Cold War era, kept primarily for communications with U.S. nuclear forces. |
| 🇺🇸 | E-8 Joint STARS |  |
Boeing/Northrop Grumman | 17 |
American command and control aircraft, instrumental during Persian Gulf War, primarily deployed for surveillance and ground-target tracking missions. |
| 🇺🇸 | EA-6B Prowler |  |
Grumman | 170 |
American electronic warfare aircraft, vital during the Cold War, widely deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. |
| 🇺🇸 | EC-130 Commando Solo |  |
Lockheed Martin | 14 |
American electronic operations aircraft, deployed extensively during conflicts from Vietnam to recent operations in the Middle East. |
| 🇺🇸 | EC-135 / EC-18 ARIA |  |
Boeing | 45 |
American electronic surveillance and relay aircraft, involved largely in Cold War and Space Race-era operations. |
| 🇺🇸 | EF-111 Raven |  |
General Dynamics/Grumman | 42 |
American electronic warfare aircraft, extensively deployed in Gulf War, notable for radar jamming and deception operations. |
| Country | Model | Manufacturer | Produced | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 | Hawker 800 |  |
Hawker Beechcraft | 650 |
British mid-size twinjet corporate aircraft, known for its international charters and private operations since the mid-1980s. |
| 🇺🇸 | KC-130 Hercules |  |
Lockheed Martin | 124 |
American military transport aircraft, noted for tactical refueling and cargo application, extensively operational during Cold War era and beyond. |
| 🇺🇸 | KC-135 Stratotanker |  |
Boeing | 803 |
American refueling aircraft, deployed during Cold War, Desert Storm and ongoing operations worldwide for mid-air refueling missions. |
| 🇺🇸 | King Air 90 |  |
Beechcraft | 3100 |
American twin-turboprop aircraft, prominently deployed for utility, corporate, and military purposes from the 1960s onward. |
| 🇺🇸 | P-3 Orion |  |
Lockheed | 757 |
American maritime patrol aircraft, actively used in the Cold War, notable for anti-submarine warfare and surveillance operations. |
| 🇺🇸 | PA-32 Cherokee Six |  |
Piper | 7842 |
American light, single-engined aircraft, dominant during the late 20th century, widely used for personal, commercial air taxi services. |
| 🇺🇸 | RC-135 Rivet Joint |  |
Boeing | 32 |
American reconnaissance aircraft, routinely deployed since the Cold War era, esteemed for its crucial surveillance roles worldwide. |
| 🇺🇸 | S-2 Tracker |  |
Grumman | 1284 |
American carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft, deployed during the Cold War, notably used in the Vietnam and Korean Wars. |
| 🇺🇸 | S-3 Viking |  |
Lockheed | 188 |
American anti-submarine aircraft, operational during the Cold War, recognized for its service in Gulf War naval missions. |
| 🇺🇸 | SR-20 |  |
Cirrus | 1459 |
American civil utility aircraft, renowned from the late 20th century, extensively deployed in private aviation and flight training. |
| 🇺🇸 | SR-71 Blackbird |  |
Lockheed | 32 |
American strategic reconnaissance aircraft, operational from 1966-1998, unmatched speed and altitude records, infamous for Cold War and NASA missions. |