All through the Vietnam War, the U.S. Armed Forces lacked adequate close air support. Fairchild-Republic developed the A-10 Thunderbolt to remedy the situation. The A-10 can fly at altitudes under 1,000 feet (300 m) and 350 mph (560 km/h) speeds. The Thunderbolt's ability to fly "slow and low" makes it better suited for the ground-attack role, where small target detection often plays a part in a mission's success.

General Dynamics® started development of the F-16 in the early '70s, just as tensions in Vietnam were drawing to a close. Preliminary test flights proved the F-16 could execute supersonic speeds with ease. Exceptional maneuverability, long-range performance and affordability also made the F-16 highly sought after by the U.S. Air Force and numerous NATO nations. Today, the F-16 easily ranks among the world's most-produced jet fighters, with over 4,450 models flown by 26 countries in all.

The P-51 Mustang was the most popular and widely produced fighter of World War II. Total production of all models reached 15,576 planes. The P-51 had a top speed of 437 mph. Armament consisted of six .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the wings. The P-51 Mustang is regarded today as a classic in piston powered fighter design.

One of the classic aircraft of the World War II period, the Corsair was designed in 1938 to meet a USN requirement for a shipboard fighter. The distinctive inverted gull-wing was to provide sufficient ground clearance for the huge propellor attached to the Double Wasp engine. The XF4U-1 was first flown on May 29 1940. On October 1st, 1940, the aircraft became the first to exceed 400mph - achieving 404mph (646kmh). The aircraft entered service in mid-1942, and development continued through to 1952.

The first A6M5 Zero was build by the Mitsubishi Jukogyo in 1943. It was developed to combat heavier built & armed Allied fighters that were knocking the earlier Zero out of the sky during 1943. The Nakajima NK1F Sakae 21 engine gave the plane slightly better performance, and the armament was changed to 2- 20mm and 2- 13.2mm guns. These changes did not make up for the lack of armor, or the lack of self-sealing fuel tanks. However, despite these shortcomings, over 10,450 were built, being used during the entire war because other models of Japanese aircraft continued to have teething problems.

The last P-47D-5RE, serial 4-8702, was taken from the assembly line and modified by cutting down the razorback spine and fitting a bubble canopy in place of the original framed version. The new canopy had full 360 degree vision and a new flat armored windscreen. the fist production version of the bubbletop Thunderbolt was designated P-47D-25-RE.