How High Can Military Planes Fly? (2024)

How high a military aircraft can fly partly depends on what an airplane is and whether it's 'flying'. By some definitions, the SR-71 "Blackbird" was the fastest manned aircraft in the world and claimed the record for the highest flight. But both the X-15 and MiG E-266M dispute this claim. Interestingly, all three of these military records were set during the competition of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s and haven't been broken since. It seems that flying higher and higher isn't the main focus of military aviation.

According to PhysLink.com, most US military aircraft can exceed 50,000 feet "if they really try," but their exact limits are mostly classified. Many widebody commercial jets have a service ceiling of 43,000 feet (although they could go higher). As aircraft go high into the atmosphere, either the aircraft needs to be pressurized (as in the case of commercial jets), or the pilots need to wear pressurized suits.

Going high

As aircraft climb higher into (or really out of) the earth's atmosphere, the oxygen gets thinner and thinner until there isn't enough oxygen in the air to burn the jet fuel continuously. Commercial jetliners typically cruise between 30,000 and 45,000 feet above mean sea level (most commercial jetliners are approved to fly at a maximum altitude of 42,000 feet).

The US Air Force states that the famous U2 spy plane routinely flies at over 70,000 feet, while PhyLink.com claims the U2 can cruise at up to 90,000 feet or 17 miles. Stealth Bombers cruise at up to 50,000 feet. The Russian MiG-31 claims to have the highest service ceiling of any fighter aircraft in service today (at 25,000 meters or 82,000 feet).

Photo: JetKat | Shutterstock

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Three military aircraft often claimed to have flown at the highest altitudes are the American X-15, the Soviet MiG-25 E-266M, and the American SR-71 Blackbird. These all broke world records in their own categories: the MiG-25 E-266M and SR-71 records remain unbroken today, while the civilian SpaceShipOne broke the X-15's world record category in 2004.

X-15 - but is it a plane?

The X-15 was an experimental rocket ship built by the US Air Force and NASA to explore the edge of space. It was the world's first manned hypersonic aircraft and the first to reach Machs 4, 5, and 6, and it still holds the world's record for the fastest manned flight (Mach 6.7 or 4,534 mph) set in 1967.

The X-15 also holds the record for the highest manned military flight - reaching 354,200 feet or 67 miles in 1963 piloted by Joseph Walker. But some would say the X-15 isn't really an airplane - instead, it's a rocket with its own oxygen supply. The first 'space suit' was made for the X-15, and some of the flights were so high that the pilots met the definition of astronauts.

Photo: US Air Force

MiG-25 (E-266M) but did it fly?

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the world record for the Absolute Altitude Record was achieved by the Soviet pilot Alexandr Fedotov on 31 August 1977 when he took his MiG E-266M to 123,523 feet. This is the absolute record for altitude for a ground-launched airplane and has not been broken. This was achieved on a zoom climb and is different from the world record for a sustained altitude in horizontal flight. Fedotov had previously been named a Hero of the Soviet Union. He later died on 4 April 1984 while test-flying the MiG-31.

SR-71 "Blackbird" record-breaker

"Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world's fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth's surface per hour." - US Air Force

Photo:PJSAero| Shutterstock

PhysLink.com also states the world record for speed and height by an air-breathing aircraft (criteria which exclude the rocket plane X-15) was 85,135 feet set by the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" in 1976. SR-71 was designed to cruise at speeds of Mach 3.2 and broke the speed record for a sustained altitude in horizontal flight at 2,193 mph. It is known that the SR-71 can fly at higher speeds and higher altitudes, but these limits remain classified. NASA claims the SR-71 remains the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft ever built.

MiG-29 & high altitude joyrides

MiGFlug offers high-paying customers the chance to take High Altitude Flights - or Edge of Space Flights in their MiG-29s. The Soviet MiG-29 can reach a guaranteed altitude of 55,440 feet or 10.5 miles during High Altitude Flights, but it can get higher to around 11.8 miles. The current service ceiling for the MiG-29s is 59,100 feet or 11.2 miles, but MiGFlug states they have managed to climb up to 75,459 feet or 14.3 miles. They have lower altitudes today because their speed limit has been reduced to Mach 1.7, down from Mach 1.9.