Japan’s ShinMaywa US-2 can take off from water in just 280 meters. That’s shorter than many commercial runways, for a 43-ton aircraft.
This insane STOL performance (thanks to its unique boundary-layer control system) lets the JMSDF launch life-saving rescues from rough seas and remote spots where almost no other plane can operate.
🚨🔥 Massive engines. Blazing afterburners. Nearly Mach 3. This is the MiG-31 Foxhound unleashed.
Watch the Foxhound ignite its twin Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans, each producing a colossal 34,000 lbf (152 kN) of thrust. The result? A deafening wall of fire and nearly 68,000 pounds of combined thrust hurling one of the world's fastest interceptors down the runway.
Built to hunt bombers, cruise missiles, and high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, the MiG-31 can reach an astonishing Mach 2.83 (≈3,000 km/h / 1,860 mph), covering 1 kilometer every 1.2 seconds and remaining the fastest operational combat aircraft in service.
Behind its shark-like nose sits the powerful Zaslon phased-array radar, capable of detecting targets more than 200 km away while guiding long-range missiles such as the R-37M.
When those afterburners light, you're not just watching a takeoff, you're witnessing one of the most powerful interceptors ever built unleash nearly 68,000 pounds of raw thrust. 🔥✈️