What Happened
Retired Fighter Jets Support Low-Boom Flight Development
NASA has received two retired F-15 fighter jets from the United States Air Force to support its supersonic flight research program. The aircraft, which arrived at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in December 2025, will be used to advance the agency’s Quesst mission and low-boom supersonic flight research. The F-15’s high-speed and high-altitude capabilities make it an ideal platform for this type of research. NASA has operated F-15s for research purposes since 1976, and the addition of these two aircraft will enhance the agency’s capabilities. The development of low-boom supersonic flight technology has the potential to facilitate the launch of commercial supersonic services over land, and NASA’s research efforts are expected to play a crucial role in this development. This announcement was first reported by AeroTime.