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Beginning of fighter jets
The first generation fighter jet was the German Messerschmitt Me 262 finished in 1942. Development was slow because of issues with jet engines and administrative problems. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwariiaircraft/p/me262.htm -
Delta wings
Delta wings were first introduced in January 1945 by Robert T. Jones. Delta wings allow even less drag than swept wings. However the downside with them is the plane must be going very fast for them to be efficient. http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/pdf/wing_design_k-12.pdf -
Swept wings
The first swept wing fighter jet to serve in the USAF was the North American F-86 Sabre finished in 1947. This plane had many counted victories in the Korean war against Russian MiG's. The swept wing design allowed the plane to go faster before bad things started to occur http://history.nasa.gov/SP-468/ch11-3.htm -
Breaking the sound barrier
The sound barrier was broken in 1947 by Chuck Yeager. Yeager was flying in an X-1 almost 45000 ft above the ground. The breaking of this barrier was due to the innovation of swept wings and faster engines. http://history.nasa.gov/SP-468/ch11-4.htm -
Radar
Radar was first introduced into fighter jets in the 1950's. This came along because pilots could no long see as far as they needed to, and because planes are tiny in the sky. Exact day not know. http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/07/17/how-does-a-fighter-jet-lock-onto-and-keep-track-of-an-enemy-aircraft/#29e4bfe3cb6f -
Guided missiles
The first successful guided missiles came about in 1956 on the USAF's AIM-4 Falcon. It shows a great leap forward in the destructive power of these fighter jets, boasting superiority over the enemies. Date not known
http://www.defencejournal.com/jun99/guided-missiles.htm -
Supercruise
The British Aircraft Corporation Tactical Strike/Reconnaissance 2 (TSR-2) was the first plane to cruise at a speed faster than sound. This means an afterburner was not being used to maintain this speed. This results in a minimization of fuel use. However many planes cannot carry a weapons load to achieve this. http://www.liquisearch.com/supercruise/history -
Stealth
Stealth was a crucial development for these planes. Being able to be undetected by enemy radar was a huge advantage. It came in the late 1970's by the russians. This advantage was soon implemented on many aircraft around the world exact date not known
https://www.nae.edu/Publications/Bridge/CentennialofAviation/TheEvolutionofMilitaryAviation.aspx
