These Are The Oldest US Fighter Jets Still In Service

The five oldest US fighter jets still in service are well-designed aircraft that have endured the test of time.

Simple Flying examines how these five American warbirds have kept their fighting edge by adapting to changing needs.

5

T-38 A/C Talon (1961)

Still hanging tough in the training role

The oldest fighter in the US Air Force has served as a reliable trainer and, despite its age, continues to look good doing it.

Built by the Northrop Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) and making its maiden flight on April 10, 1959, the TC-38 Talon entered official operational service with the US Air Force on March 17, 1961, St. Patrick’s Day. This lucky aircraft was the world’s first supersonic trainer when it entered service.

Since then, as noted by Northrop Grumman’s official information page:

• The Talon has helped train over 72,000 US Air Force pilots.
• The company produced nearly 1,200 Talons between 1961 and 1972.
• More than 500 are currently operational with the US Air Force and NASA.

4

F-5F/N Tiger II (1974)

Not to be confused with the Flying Tigers of WWII, this old Tiger still has some bite

One old Northrop fighter deserves another. The older iteration of the F-5, the F-5A Freedom Fighter, actually dates back to July 1959 for its maiden flight date and 1964 for its operational debut year. However, two variants are currently in service: the F-5F first flew on September 25, 1974, now celebrating its 50th birthday, and the F-5N Tiger II had its first flight in 2006. Regarding the latter variant, the US Navy said this:

“The F-5N/Fs are third-generation F-5 fighter aircraft designed for replacement of the F-5A/B/E production models. These aging aircraft will be replaced by low-houred F-5N/F acquired from the Swiss Air Force surplus by United States Navy (USN)….Currently, the Swiss F-5N Replacement Program replaces the present high-time Navy F-5Es with low-time F-5Ns allowing the USN/USMC to operate the F-5N aircraft to Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. The Phase Depot Maintenance (PDM) required modifications to USN configuration provides a safer, lower-flight time Adversary aircraft with increased capability for Department of Navy (DoN) pilots. These aircraft are assigned to Government facilities, namely, NAS Key West, Florida, MCAS Yuma, Arizona, and NAS Fallon, Nevada.”

3

F-14 Tomcat (1974)

Technically, it is no longer in service for the US, but it is in service all the same

This American-made jet fighter is no longer in service with the Armed Forces of the United States of America, but ironically is still in service with an American adversary nation’s military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF; نیروی هوایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران/ Nirvi-ye Hevayi-ye Artesh-e Jimhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran).

Of course, as with the other US-made fighter planes in the IRIAF arsenal—namely the F-4 Phantom II and (coincidentally enough) the F-5E variant of the Tiger II—the Tomcats were sold to Iran when US-Iranian relations were better, i.e., back when the Shah—more specifically Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980)—was still in power, not the religious radical ayatollahs and mullahs.

The Iranian Tomcat drivers certainly put their US-made warbirds to good use during their 1980-1988 war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Air Force (IqAF), officially claiming a 130:4 air-to-air kill ratio.

As of 2021, the IRIAF still has an estimated 26 F-14s still in service, according to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA).

2

F-16 Fighting Falcon, AKA the “Viper” (1978)

Still going strong worldwide

Yes, believe it or not, this former General Dynamics aircraft (1974), then Lockheed and now Lockheed Martin (Lockheed 1993–1995/Lockheed Martin 1995–present) has officially been in US Air Force service for 46 years. It made its operational debut on August 17, 1978. The official maiden flight of the Viper took place on February 2, 1974 qualifies this sleek warbird as a fifty-something.

Of all the fighter planes on the list, the F-16 is clearly still the strongest in terms of the sheer number of airframes in service and the number of different nations with this warbird in their fleet. The USAF alone has 897 Vipers in service at the most recent count (the US Navy has 40). An additional 25 other countries have the venerable Viper, including:

• The Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri): 243
• The Israeli Air Force (IAF; זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל/Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal): 224

• The Egyptian Air Force (EAF; القوات الجوية المصرية/El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya/Ⲛⲉⲛⲡⲉⲧϩⲁⲗⲁⲓⲛⲙⲓϣⲓ ⲛ̀ⲕⲏⲙⲓ): 218
• The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; 대한민국 공군/大韓民國空軍/Daehanminguk Gong-gun): 167

1

F/A-18A Hornet (1983)

The youngest of the bunch (comparatively speaking)

The original iteration of the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing, since the 1997 merger) F/A-18A Hornet is not to be confused with the 1995 vintage F/A-18E/F Super Hornet immortalized in cinema by Top Gun: Maverick.

Making its maiden flight on November 18, 1978, the F/A-18A first entered service with the US Marine Corps on January 7, 1983, followed by the US Navy on July 1, 1984.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) notes the following:

However, the USMC, which has eschewed the Super Hornet, still has 191 F/A-18A/B/C/D models in service, with 143 designated as frontline fighters and the remaining 43 serving in the training role. Other current users include:

• The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF): 63 63 CF-18As
• The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF; Ejército del Aire y del Espacio): 72 EF-18As