The fastest-ever aircraft was a hypersonic rocket plane that flew at Mach 6.7
- The fastest speed recorded by an aircraft is 7,274kph or Mach 6.7.
- The hypersonic North American X-15 was built by NASA to carry out aeronautical research
- The record was set in the 1960s and remains to this day
Published on Jun 13, 2024 at 12:41 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jun 13, 2024 at 6:24 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The fastest-ever aircraft was a hypersonic plane that managed to hit a staggering 7,274kph (4,520 miles per hour) or Mach 6.7.
The North American X-15 was built by NASA and designed to carry out high-speed aeronautic research.
In its decade of use, the X-15 was flown just under 200 times (199, to be exact) by 12 different pilots.
READ MORE! SR-71 Blackbird set four new speed records the day before its retirement
And one of those 199 flights earned itself a spot in the history books.
After being launched from a Boeing B-52, the plane reached the edge of space – powered by its single Reaction Motors XLR99 rocket engine.
It hit a top speed of Mach 6.7 – or 7,272kph – landing it the title of the highest speed ever recorded by a crewed, powered aircraft.
Impressive stuff, right?
Interestingly, while we see advancements in plane performance and technology every day, you may be surprised to learn that this particular record – which still holds today – was set back in October 1967.
The hypersonic aircraft had an important purpose
But NASA is quick to remind folks that the X-15 did more than just set a speed record – noting on its website: “Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo piloted spaceflight programs as well as the Space Shuttle program.”
Given that the X-15 is basically a rocket with wings – some consider the true fastest plane to be the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which has a top speed of 3,500kph (2,100mph) and is so fast it can outrun most missiles.
The SR-71 Blackbird was designed to be able to hit speeds faster than Mach 3 and altitudes of up to 24,000 meters (80,000 feet).
What’s the fastest commercial flight?
In terms of commercial flights – the now-defunct supersonic Concorde holds the record.
Concorde could cruise at a maximum speed of Mach 2.04 – or 2,455 kph/1,354 mph – so fast it broke the sound barrier causing a ‘sonic boom’.
To give that a bit of context, Concorde was capable of flying from London to New York in around three hours.
While supersonic commercial flights no longer exist – a new record was set by a subsonic British Airways flight in 2020, after a journey from New York to London in under five hours.
And it didn’t even need a rocket engine.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
