How Fast Can A Fighter Jet Fly Across The World? Here's How Long It Would Take

There's no denying that modern fighter jets are incredibly fast machines capable of covering a lot of ground in a short time. While most people know or assume this about these incredible aircraft, what's unclear is precisely how fast they travel. Sure, you could look up its maximum airspeed and go with that, but there's more to flying than simply solving for time = distance/speed for a specific aircraft like the F-22 Raptor or similar fighter. One intriguing aspect of these aircraft is trying to determine how fast they can travel around the world. 

While fighter jets can fly across the U.S. at record speed, the planet is significantly larger. On top of that, defining what "across the world" means is also important. The farther you are north or south from the equator, the shorter the distance needed to travel. If an F-35A Lightning II travels across the world only a few miles from the pole, it will take seconds ... but traversing the globe at the equator is another thing entirely. There's also wind speed, air travel restrictions, altitude, temperature, takeoff and landing times, pilot endurance, and much more to consider. 

Fortunately, that's not necessary for this thought experiment because only the total distance, maximum cruising speed, and refueling times are considered. Other data is far too specific for a general understanding of a fighter's speed. Let's look into three fighters that need to travel the equatorial distance of roughly 24,901 miles and the distance along the 40th parallel north, which is roughly 19,014 miles, which is the distance you'd travel if you flew east or west from New York City to return where you began.

Boeing's F-15EX Eagle II is the latest variant of the fourth-generation fighter that debuted as the F-15 Eagle in the 1970s. The F-15EX Eagle II entered the U.S. Air Force's inventory in June 2024, making it the most advanced version of the aircraft in operation. The new fighter offers significant improvements over legacy designs, including the addition of conformal fuel tanks fitted to the plane's profile, extending its ferry range to 2,400 miles with three additional external tanks.

The F-15EX is outfitted with two General Electric F110-GE-129 after-burning turbofan engines capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 2.5+ (1,918+ mph). However, its cruising speed is likely similar to earlier models, putting it around 575 mph. This is because fuel is consumed too quickly at maximum speed. Because of the total distance, the aircraft would have to refuel multiple times, and while this requires slowing down to match the speed, the transfer of fuel, and more, to simplify things, the average time considered is 10 minutes.

To fly around the equator, an F-15EX would need 43 hours and 18 minutes to cover the distance. If we then take the fighter's ferry range into consideration, it would need to refuel 11 times, which would add approximately 110 minutes, totaling 45 hours and eight minutes. To fly the 40th parallel, an F-15EX would need 33 hours and four minutes with an additional eight aerial refuelings, or 80 minutes to the total time of 34 hours and 24 minutes.

The F-22A Raptor is the world's first fifth-generation fighter, which the U.S. Air Force operates. It entered the inventory in 2005 and has since been surpassed by more advanced aircraft. Regardless, the F-22 is a fast fighter, thanks to its two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW turbofan engines, each capable of providing 35,000 pounds of thrust with afterburners. This enables the aircraft to fly up to Mach 2.25 (1,726 mph) with a ferry distance of 1,850 miles via two external fuel tanks.

The F-22 boasts a supercruise feature, enabling the fighter to cruise at Mach 1.5+ (1,151+ mph), though this eats up considerable fuel reserves. Regardless, using that metric, the F-22 would be able to fly much faster than other fighters, covering the equatorial distance in 21 hours and 38 minutes. It would need to refuel 14 times to cover the distance, adding 140 minutes to the flight, or 23 hours and 58 minutes in total to cover the 24,901 miles. Supercruise for so long isn't practical, so the F-22 would likely maintain a speed of Mach 0.9 (690 mph).

Taking this into consideration, the total time with refueling would be significantly longer at 38 hours and 25 minutes. Using this same speed for the 40th parallel, an F-22 would cover the 19,014 miles in 27 hours and 33 minutes. It would need to refuel 11 times, bringing the total time to 29 hours and 23 minutes. Either calculation proves the F-22's speed when compared to an updated fighter like the F-15EX, but what about its successor?

Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II entered the Air Force inventory in 2016, and there are three variants, each designed for the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, with the F-35A operating for the latter. The F-35A is the fastest configuration, outfitted with a Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 turbofan engine capable of delivering 43,000 pounds of thrust. This enables the aircraft to reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 (1,228 mph). The fighter's cruise speed is Mach 0.86 (660 mph), and it has a range of 1,381 miles.

As of late 2024, the U.S. F-35As do not have external or conformal fuel tanks, though it has a significant internal supply. Taking this into account, it would take an F-35A 37 hours and 44 minutes to fly the equatorial distance around the planet. It would need to refuel 19 times, bringing the total time to 40 hours and 54 minutes. That's a lot of aerial refueling needed to cover such a distance, which future additional fuel tanks should reduce.

For the 40th parallel, the F-35A would need to fly 28 hours and 49 minutes, with 140 minutes added for refueling. This brings the total time to 31 hours and nine minutes. Comparing all three aircraft, the F-35A beats the F-15EX's equatorial speed by 4 hours and 14 minutes and comes in second to the F-22 by 2 hours and 29 minutes. This is a significant achievement, seeing as the F-35A has a single engine compared to the other fighters' two, and they also require fewer aerial refuelings, making the F-35A Lightning II the overall winner.