Let’s be honest , most of us were attracted to a career as a fighter pilot because we want to experience the thrill of flying some of the fastest most technically advanced aircraft in the world.

As part of my new blog I want to include a regular feature about some of the coolest, fastest and latest fighter jets in the world to get you fired up to do all the work you’ll need to do to get yourself into the cockpit of one of these amazing machines. At lot has changed since I began my career as a fighter pilot, and even more has changed since I have left! Some of the new aircraft in the United States military and the technology behind them are truly remarkable, so I thought I would start this series of posts giving a short run down on some of the basics in the latest in fighter jets and fighter jet technology for those of you new to the club.

The latest jets are sometimes referred to as fifth generation fighter jets and include models such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightening II. Of the fifth generation jets only the F-22 is currently in service, and only in the United States.

The F-22, which is built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is not only the best fighter used today, but its ability in ground attacks, electronic warfare and signals intelligence is unmatched!  In spite of its unmatched ability, the F-22 is no longer in production, and will be replaced by the F-35, which we discussed recently in the last on-live call.

There are however, currently 187 of these bad boys in service today with the US forces, and if you, or any one you know has flown one make sure you share your experience on the forum! I will be discussing some of the finer details of this amazing craft in a future post.

For those of you who missed the live call, the F-35 is the latest fighter jet that is under development for use in the US, and is a stealth multirole fighter.  It is a superior aircraft that can out-perform in close-air, tactical bombing and air defence missions.

It is being developed by the US and UK armies, and is slated to be the fighter pilot aircraft of choice through 2040. Testing of the aircraft has very recently begun and I will definitely keep everyone here at the Afterburner Club posted on the latest results!

Also, if there are any particular topics or technologies you guys would like to know more about keep me and my staff posted on the forum.