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This fighter jet trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and starts with the first operational jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262, and runs through the swept-wing duels of MiG Alley, the Phantom and Tomcat era, the F-15's perfect combat record, the F-16's fly-by-wire trick and the stealth generation of the F-22, F-35, J-20 and Su-57. It also covers the people and gear around the cockpit: what makes a pilot an ace, the top-scoring aces of both world wars, how ejection seats and G-suits work, why afterburners are called reheat, and which jets the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Top Gun films actually flew. There are a few propeller-era questions on the Spitfire, Mustang, Zero and Red Baron for context. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
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Q 01Which aircraft was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter?
Messerschmitt Me 262
Its first jet-powered flight was in July 1942, and it flew the world's first jet fighter operations from October 1944.
Q 02Which was the only Allied jet aircraft to fly combat operations in the Second World War?
Gloster Meteor
It was Britain's first jet fighter; the proof-of-concept Gloster E28/39 had first flown in May 1941.
Q 03The F-86 Sabre fought some of the first jet-versus-jet battles against the MiG-15 during which war?
The Korean War
It was America's first swept-wing fighter, drawing on German wartime research into swept wings.
Q 04Roughly how many MiG-15s were built, making it one of the most-produced jet aircraft ever?
Over 13,000
North Korea still uses it as an advanced trainer.
Q 05Which Soviet fighter, NATO codename Fishbed, is the most-produced supersonic jet in history?
MiG-21
For years it also held the record for the longest production run of any combat aircraft.
Q 06How many F-4 Phantom IIs were built between 1958 and 1981?
5,195
That makes it the most-produced American supersonic military aircraft; both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels flew it.
Q 07Which fighter has a combat record of more than 104 air-to-air kills and no losses?
F-15 Eagle
It scored 36 of the 39 US Air Force air-to-air victories in the Gulf War.
Q 08By what nickname do pilots commonly know the F-16 Fighting Falcon?
Viper
Over 4,600 have been built since 1976, and the manufacturer now sells the upgraded F-16V under that name officially.
Q 09The F-16 was the first production fighter deliberately designed to be what?
Slightly aerodynamically unstable
Its four-channel fly-by-wire system keeps it under control; the seat is also reclined 30 degrees to help the pilot handle g-forces.
Q 10What distinctive wing feature does the F-14 Tomcat have?
Variable-sweep wings
They sweep back automatically for high-speed intercepts and forward for slow flight and loitering.
Q 11Which country, other than the United States, operated the F-14 Tomcat, buying it in 1976?
Iran
After the 1979 revolution the aircraft fought in the Iran-Iraq War; Iran claimed at least 160 kills with them.
Q 12How many F-22 Raptors were built in total after the programme was capped in 2009?
195
The Air Force had once planned 750 to replace its whole F-15 fleet; the F-22 first flew in 1997 and entered service in December 2005.
Q 13Which of the F-35's three variants is the short take-off and vertical-landing version?
F-35B
The A is conventional take-off and the C is the carrier catapult version; the Marines fielded the B first, in 2015.
Q 21Which was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight, in October 1958?
Dassault Mirage III
Its tailless delta wing meant no conventional flaps, so it needed a long take-off run and a fast landing.
Q 22Which company marketed the F-104 Starfighter with the slogan 'the missile with a man in it'?
Lockheed
West Germany lost 292 of its 916 Starfighters, and the public nicknamed it the Witwenmacher, or widowmaker.
Q 23The Harrier 'jump jet' is famous for which capability?
Vertical and short take-off
Sea Harriers flew from HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes in the 1982 Falklands War.
Q 14The F-35's official name pays tribute to which World War II fighter?
P-38 Lightning
Lockheed Martin delivered a record 191 F-35s in 2025, taking the global fleet to about 1,300.
Q 15Which was the first fifth-generation fighter to enter service, in December 2005?
F-22 Raptor
All fifth-generation designs carry weapons in internal bays to keep their radar cross-section small.
Q 16China's Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter is known by which nickname?
Mighty Dragon
It entered service in March 2017, making China the second country to field an operational stealth fighter.
Q 17What is the NATO reporting name of Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter?
Felon
It was meant to replace both the Su-27 and MiG-29 with a single fifth-generation type.
Q 18In 1976 Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected by flying his MiG-25 to an airport in which country?
Japan
The Foxbat could exceed Mach 3.2, but only at the cost of wrecking its engines.
Q 19Which four nations manage the Eurofighter Typhoon programme?
UK, Germany, Italy and Spain
France was in the original 1983 collaboration but left to build the Rafale; the Typhoon entered service in 2003.
Q 20Sweden's Saab JAS 39 fighter is named after which mythical creature?
Griffin
The name Gripen was chosen in a public competition and matches the heraldic beast on Saab's logo.
Q 24The Panavia Tornado was jointly developed by Italy, Germany and which other nation?
Britain
The consortium formed to replace the F-104 Starfighter, and the Tornado kept its swing wings.
Q 25Despite the 'Stealth Fighter' label, the F-117 Nighthawk was designed for what role?
Ground attack
One was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Yugoslavia in March 1999.
Q 26What is the British term for a jet engine afterburner?
Reheat
Extra fuel is injected into the exhaust behind the turbine and burned at around 1,390 °C.
Q 27Which company, founded by a Northern Irish engineer named James, leads in ejection seats?
Martin-Baker
Its first live test came in July 1946, when fitter Bernard Lynch ejected from a Gloster Meteor.
Q 28The first aircraft with an ejection seat, in 1940, was a prototype jet from which manufacturer?
Heinkel
Test pilot Helmut Schenk made the first emergency ejection from a He 280 in January 1942 after his controls iced up.
Q 29A G-suit prevents blackouts by stopping blood from pooling where?
In the lower body
Without it, a pilot goes from greyout to tunnel vision to blackout and finally G-LOC, g-induced loss of consciousness.
Q 30How many aerial victories does a pilot usually need to be called an ace?
Five
French newspapers coined the term for Adolphe Pégoud in World War I; about 5% of fighter pilots score most of the kills.