{"id":2629855,"date":"2026-06-24T22:46:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T20:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=2629855"},"modified":"2026-06-24T22:47:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T20:47:04","slug":"fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p style=\"font-size:15px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:18px\">Part of <strong>Wings of War &mdash; From Zeppelin to Sixth Generation<\/strong>, our series on the great turning points of military aviation.<\/p><p>At six o&rsquo;clock on the evening of 1 July 1915, over the fields east of Lun&eacute;ville in France, a German lieutenant named Kurt Wintgens did something no pilot had ever done before. He pointed the nose of his little Fokker monoplane straight at a French aeroplane, and fired a machine gun mounted directly in front of him &mdash; straight through the arc of his own spinning propeller &mdash; without shattering it to splinters.<\/p><p>The French machine, hit in the engine, was forced down. Because it came to earth behind Allied lines, Wintgens was not officially credited; two weeks later he downed another and made it official. But that summer evening was the real moment. For the first time, a pilot could aim his entire aircraft at an enemy and shoot. The fighter &mdash; the single-seat machine whose only job is to destroy other aircraft &mdash; had just been born.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f3f4f6;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#333;font-size:15px;letter-spacing:.3px\">QUICK FACTS<\/p><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>What<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">The fighter &mdash; the aircraft built to win control of the air<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">1 July 1915, with the first synchronised machine-gun attack<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>The key trick<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">A gear that let a gun fire between the propeller blades<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>First jet duel<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">F-86 Sabres vs MiG-15s over Korea, 1950&ndash;53<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>The benchmark<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">Air superiority &mdash; whoever holds the sky shapes the war below<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Today<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">Stealthy fifth- and sixth-generation fighters, flown with robot wingmen<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"synchroniser\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The gun that fired through the propeller<\/h2><p>The problem had stumped designers for years. To aim a fixed gun, a pilot simply pointed his aircraft &mdash; but the obvious place to mount it, in the nose, was blocked by the spinning propeller. The solution was a synchronising gear: a mechanism, driven off the engine, that briefly interrupted the gun each time a blade passed the muzzle. Credit for it is genuinely tangled &mdash; a German engineer had patented the idea in 1913, a French designer had worked on it, and the French pilot Roland Garros had tried a crude version with steel wedges bolted to his propeller. But it was Anthony Fokker&rsquo;s company that put a working synchroniser into mass production on the Eindecker.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1788210116  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-first-fighter.jpg\" alt=\"The cockpit of a Fokker Eindecker, showing the machine gun\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Inside the Eindecker: the machine gun sits directly in front of the pilot, firing through the propeller arc thanks to the synchronising gear. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The effect was devastating. Through late 1915 the Eindeckers swept Allied reconnaissance machines from the sky in a period the British grimly called the &ldquo;Fokker Scourge.&rdquo; The aces were born &mdash; men like the German Oswald Boelcke, who wrote the first rulebook of air combat, and the most famous of all, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-red-baron-80-kills-and-a-plane-painted-blood-red\/\">Red Baron<\/a>. The dogfight, that swirling duel of turning aircraft, entered the world and never left it.<\/p><p>It was Boelcke who first turned air fighting from instinct into a craft. He wrote down a short set of rules &mdash; keep the sun behind you, attack from above and from the enemy&rsquo;s blind spot, never run but turn to meet a threat &mdash; that pilots have followed in some form ever since. Boelcke himself did not survive the war he helped invent: he died in 1916 when his aircraft collided with a comrade&rsquo;s in the chaos of a dogfight. His pupil Manfred von Richthofen went on to eighty victories and immortality as the Red Baron, before he too was killed in 1918. From the very beginning, the fighter pilot lived gloriously and briefly.<\/p><h2 id=\"the-few\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The monoplane and the Few<\/h2><p>Between the wars the fighter shed its wires and struts and became a sleek, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and a retractable undercarriage. When the Second World War came, the duel resumed at twice the speed: the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 against the British Hurricane and Spitfire in the skies over southern England in 1940. The Battle of Britain was the first time a fighter force decided the fate of a nation &mdash; and it was won as much by radar and ground control as by the aircraft themselves.<\/p><p>That was the hidden revolution of 1940. Britain had ringed its coast with radar masts and tied them, by telephone, to a central system that tracked incoming raids and guided each squadron to exactly where it was needed. It meant the defenders no longer had to waste themselves flying endless patrols; they could be held on the ground and thrown precisely at the enemy. The aircraft caught the glory, but it was this calm web of information &mdash; the world&rsquo;s first integrated air-defence network &mdash; that truly broke the German assault.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1431374524  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/supermarine-spitfire-in-flight.jpg\" alt=\"A Supermarine Spitfire in flight\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Supermarine Spitfire &mdash; the fighter that, with the Hurricane, held the line in the Battle of Britain. Photo: UK MOD \/ Crown Copyright.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"jet-age\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The jet age and MiG Alley<\/h2><p>Then came the jet, and everything got faster again. Germany fielded the first jet fighter, the Me 262, too late to matter. The real contest came over Korea, where American F-86 Sabres met Soviet-built MiG-15s in the first large-scale jet-versus-jet combat in history &mdash; a swirling, supersonic-edge duel high above the Yalu River that the pilots called &ldquo;MiG Alley.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1053812027  decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/north-american-f-86-sabre.jpg\" alt=\"North American F-86 Sabres over Korea\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">F-86 Sabres over Korea in 1952. Against the MiG-15, they fought the world&rsquo;s first great jet battles. Photo: U.S. Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"missiles\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">Missiles, Vietnam and Top Gun<\/h2><p>The next revolution was the guided missile, which promised to kill at distances where a pilot could not even see his target. Designers grew so confident in the missile that some new fighters were built without a gun at all &mdash; a mistake brutally exposed over Vietnam, where rigid tactics and unreliable early missiles let nimble MiGs hold their own. The Americans responded in two ways: with clever tactics, like Robin Olds&rsquo; famous <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-bolo-robin-olds-mig-trap-over-hanoi\/\">Operation Bolo<\/a> ambush, and with a school to teach dogfighting properly again &mdash; the legendary <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/topgun-nine-men-a-trailer-and-a-revolution-in-air-combat\/\">Top Gun<\/a>. The lesson, relearned the hard way, was that technology never fully replaces the pilot.<\/p><h2 id=\"stealth\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">Stealth and the sixth generation<\/h2><p>The modern fighter folded everything together: the missile, the radar, and a new quality &mdash; near-invisibility. The American F-22 and F-35 can see and shoot long before they are seen themselves. But stealth is no longer an American monopoly: Russia flies the Su-57 and China the J-20, and all three powers are now racing toward a sixth generation in which a human pilot commands a flock of autonomous drones.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1548823450  decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/f-22-raptor-twilight-modern-air-power.jpg\" alt=\"An F-22 Raptor at twilight\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The F-22 Raptor &mdash; the apex of the fighter&rsquo;s hundred-year evolution, and not the last word. Photo: U.S. Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 id=\"same-lesson\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">A century of the same lesson<\/h2><p>For all the changes of machinery, the fighter has spent a hundred years proving the same handful of truths. Height, speed and surprise still win; the pilot who sees first usually wins; and no single technology stays supreme for long. The American F-15 Eagle, designed in the 1970s, went on to score more than a hundred aerial victories without being shot down by an enemy aircraft &mdash; one of the most lopsided records in the history of air combat &mdash; precisely because it combined a powerful radar, long-reaching missiles and a pilot trained to use them well.<\/p><p>Now that balance is shifting again. As missiles reach further and stealth hides the shooter, the classic turning dogfight has become rarer, and the decisive moment often comes before the enemy is even seen. The next fighters may not carry a human at all. But the goal has never changed since Wintgens first fired through his propeller: to be the one who controls the sky, so that everything beneath it &mdash; the armies, the ships, the cities &mdash; lives or dies by your leave.<\/p><div style=\"background:#eef3ff;border:1px solid #cdddff;border-left:5px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.3px;color:#1a3a7a;font-size:14px\">POWERS COMPARED &mdash; THE FIGHTER THROUGH THE ERAS<\/p><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 14px 5px 0;color:#555;white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top\"><strong>Primera Guerra Mundial<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0\">Germany&rsquo;s synchronised gun (the Fokker Scourge) vs the Allied scramble to copy it<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 14px 5px 0;color:#555;white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top\"><strong>Segunda Guerra Mundial<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0\">The Bf 109 vs the Spitfire; the jet Me 262 vs the Allied Meteor<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 14px 5px 0;color:#555;white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top\"><strong>Guerra fr\u00eda<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0\">The F-86 Sabre vs the MiG-15; later the F-15 vs the MiG-25 and MiG-29<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 14px 5px 0;color:#555;white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top\"><strong>Today<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0\">The F-22 and F-35 vs Russia&rsquo;s Su-57 and China&rsquo;s J-20 &mdash; and the sixth generation to come<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\n<p><em>Sources: Imperial War Museum; Royal Air Force Museum; National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; standard histories of air combat.<\/em><\/p>\n<!--SERIESBOX--><div style=\"border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#f7f9fc;padding:28px 30px;margin:42px 0;border-radius:0;\"><div style=\"font:700 22px\/1.25 Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.4px;color:#5C91FF;margin-bottom:20px;\">All Articles of the Series<\/div><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;border:0;width:auto;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:1.45;\"><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">1.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/zeppelin-airship-military-history-wwi\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The Airship at War<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">How the Zeppelin first carried war into the sky<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">2.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-reconnaissance-aircraft-to-satellites\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The First Job: Reconnaissance<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">The eyes that won the Marne and climbed to orbit<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;background:#e7f0ff;\">3.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;background:#e7f0ff;\"><span style=\"font-weight:700;color:#0b2a6b;\">The Fighter<\/span><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;background:#e7f0ff;\">The hundred-year quest for control of the air<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">4.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/folkestone-gotha-raid-1917-strategic-bombing\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">Folkestone, 1917<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">The day strategic bombing was born<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">5.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/guided-missiles-precision-weapons-history\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The Precision Revolution<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">When bombs and missiles learned to aim themselves<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">6.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/electronic-warfare-aviation-history\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The Wizard War<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">How electronic warfare learned to blind the enemy<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">7.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-satellites-space-reconnaissance-history\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">Eyes in Orbit<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">How spying moved into space<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">8.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/stealth-aircraft-history\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">Stealth<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">How aircraft learned to vanish from radar<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">9.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-drone-uav-history\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The Rise of the Drone<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">War without a pilot in the cockpit<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#5C91FF;font-weight:700;padding:9px 14px 9px 10px;\">10.<\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;white-space:nowrap;padding:9px 48px 9px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/sixth-generation-fighter-jets-race\/\" style=\"font-weight:700;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;\">The Sixth Generation<\/a><\/td><td style=\"vertical-align:top;border:0;color:#555;font-weight:400;padding:9px 12px 9px 0;\">When the fighter learned to fly itself<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div><!--\/SERIESBOX--><!--SERIESCAR--><div style=\"border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#f7f9fc;border-radius:0;padding:30px 32px;margin:42px 0;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:space-between;margin-bottom:18px;\"><div style=\"font:700 26px\/1.25 Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:1.2px;color:#5C91FF;\">EXPLORE THE SERIES<\/div><div><button type=\"button\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('wowcar').scrollBy({left:-564,behavior:'smooth'})\" style=\"border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;color:#5C91FF;width:38px;height:38px;cursor:pointer;font-size:18px;line-height:1;border-radius:0;\">&#8249;<\/button><button type=\"button\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('wowcar').scrollBy({left:564,behavior:'smooth'})\" style=\"border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;color:#5C91FF;width:38px;height:38px;cursor:pointer;font-size:18px;line-height:1;border-radius:0;margin-left:6px;\">&#8250;<\/button><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wowcar\" style=\"display:flex;gap:18px;overflow-x:auto;scroll-snap-type:x mandatory;padding:4px 2px 4px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-aviation-history-zeppelin-to-sixth-generation\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:512\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/f-22-raptor-twilight-modern-air-power.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-size:11px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:1px;color:#5C91FF;margin-bottom:5px;\">OVERVIEW<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">Wings of War<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">From Zeppelin to Sixth Generation<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/zeppelin-airship-military-history-wwi\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:523\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/german-zeppelin-airship-in-flight.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Airship at War<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">How the Zeppelin first carried war into the sky<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-reconnaissance-aircraft-to-satellites\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:478\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/wwi-reconnaissance-biplane.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The First Job: Reconnaissance<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">The eyes that won the Marne and climbed to orbit<\/span><\/span><\/a><div style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;border:2px solid #5C91FF;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:512\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-size:11px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:1px;color:#5C91FF;margin-bottom:5px;\">YOU&rsquo;RE READING THIS<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#0b2a6b;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Fighter<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">The hundred-year quest for control of the air<\/span><\/span><\/div><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/folkestone-gotha-raid-1917-strategic-bombing\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:942\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/zeppelin-staaken-r-vi-giant-bomber.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">Folkestone, 1917<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">The day strategic bombing was born<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/guided-missiles-precision-weapons-history\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:510\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fritz-x-first-guided-bomb.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Precision Revolution<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">When bombs and missiles learned to aim themselves<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/electronic-warfare-aviation-history\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:614\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/ea-18g-growler-electronic-warfare.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Wizard War<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">How electronic warfare learned to blind the enemy<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-satellites-space-reconnaissance-history\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:768\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/reconnaissance-satellite-in-orbit.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">Eyes in Orbit<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">How spying moved into space<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/stealth-aircraft-history\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:512\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/f-117-nighthawk-stealth-fighter.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">Stealth<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">How aircraft learned to vanish from radar<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-drone-uav-history\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:614\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mq-9-reaper-drone.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Rise of the Drone<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">War without a pilot in the cockpit<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/sixth-generation-fighter-jets-race\/\" style=\"flex:0 0 264px;scroll-snap-align:start;display:block;text-decoration:none;border:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;border-radius:0;overflow:hidden;font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:150px;background-image:url('https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:768\/h:512\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/sixth-generation-fighter-concept.jpg');background-size:cover;background-position:center;\"><\/span><span style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px 18px;\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:700;font-size:16px;line-height:1.3;color:#1a3a7a;margin-bottom:7px;\">The Sixth Generation<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:400;font-size:13.5px;line-height:1.45;color:#555;\">When the fighter learned to fly itself<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><!--\/SERIESCAR--><div style=\"border:1px solid #ddd;margin:34px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0;padding:11px 16px;background:#1a3a7a;color:#fff;font-weight:700;font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.5px\">RELATED READING<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/military-aviation-history-zeppelin-to-sixth-generation\/\" style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:15px;line-height:1.4;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3\">Wings of War: From Zeppelin to Sixth Generation (series overview)<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-red-baron-80-kills-and-a-plane-painted-blood-red\/\" style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:15px;line-height:1.4;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3\">The Red Baron: 80 Kills and a Plane Painted Blood Red<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-bolo-robin-olds-mig-trap-over-hanoi\/\" style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:15px;line-height:1.4;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3\">Operation Bolo: Robin Olds\u2019 MiG Trap Over Hanoi<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/topgun-nine-men-a-trailer-and-a-revolution-in-air-combat\/\" style=\"display:block;padding:13px 16px;color:#1a3a7a;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:15px;line-height:1.4\">TOPGUN: Nine Men, a Trailer, and a Revolution in Air Combat<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part of Wings of War &mdash; From Zeppelin to Sixth Generation, our series on the great turning points of military aviation. At six o&rsquo;clock on the evening of 1 July 1915, over the fields east of Lun&eacute;ville in France, a German lieutenant named Kurt Wintgens did something no pilot had ever done before. He pointed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2629846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2629855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1648,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"A Fokker Eindecker, the first aircraft built around a gun synchronised to fire through its own propeller\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/es\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority","description":"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority","og_description":"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority","datePublished":"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/"},"wordCount":1648,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/","name":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-24T20:46:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-24T20:47:04+00:00","description":"From the first gun fired through a propeller in 1915 to stealth jets and robot wingmen \u2014 the story of the fighter and the fight for the sky.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/fokker-eindecker-aircraft.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"A Fokker Eindecker, the first aircraft built around a gun synchronised to fire through its own propeller"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fighter-aircraft-air-superiority-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Fighter: The Hundred-Year Quest for Air Superiority"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"Para aquellos interesados en pilotar aviones militares y temas relacionados con la aviaci\u00f3n.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629855"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651466,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629855\/revisions\/2651466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2629846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}