Only a Handful of Mach 2+ Cold War Jets Are Still Airworthy, and One Company Flies Almost All of Them

News Provided by American News Group on behalf of Starfighters Space, Inc.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American News Group News Commentary - The race to develop hypersonic weapons, high-speed defense systems, and next-generation spaceflight hardware has created a demand that is easy to overlook: someone has to actually fly the tests. Getting instruments, materials, and payloads into the high-speed, high-altitude flight regime, again and again, on a schedule and at a cost that makes iterative testing practical, is its own specialized capability. One small public company has built its business around a fleet of supersonic aircraft that can do exactly that, and this month it is taking that fleet in front of a public audience.

Key Takeaways

• A public showcase of a rare capability. Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET) announced it will participate in the September 12-13 AIRSHO at the Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas, showcasing its historic F-104 aircraft in both flight and static displays.
• The world's only commercial Mach 2+ fleet. Starfighters describes itself as the only company in the world with the commercial capability to fly at sustained Mach 2+ speeds, operating what it calls the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ F-104 supersonic aircraft.
• A scarce, hard-to-replicate asset. More than 2,500 F-104s were built for air forces around the world, but the company says only a handful remain airworthy today, and most of those are in its fleet.
• Flown by elite aircrew. The F-104 will be piloted by Piercarlo Ciacchi, the Company's Director of Flight Operations, who has over 7,000 hours of flight time and previously flew the F-104 in the Italian Air Force as a member of Italy's National Aerobatic Team.
• A platform, not a museum piece. The company operates its F-104 fleet as commercial flight platforms for high-speed research, testing, and technology development, configurable for air-launched payloads, pilot training, and RDT&E across hypersonics, missile defense, microgravity science, spaceflight hardware, advanced materials, and defense electronics.

What Was Announced

Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET), the space company operating the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ F-104 supersonic aircraft, announced it will participate in the September 12-13 AIRSHO at the Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas, showcasing its historic F-104 aircraft in both flight and static displays. According to the company, the 35th annual Commemorative Air Force High Sky Wing AIRSHO brings together historic and modern aircraft for aerial demonstrations and ground displays, offering attendees an up-close look at aviation history.

The company framed the appearance as an opportunity to show how an icon of aviation history continues to play a role in the future of aerospace. Today, Starfighters operates its F-104 fleet as commercial flight platforms supporting high-speed research, testing, and technology development for next-generation aerospace and space applications, rather than as static historical artifacts. The aircraft will be flown by the company's Director of Flight Operations and lead aviator, Piercarlo Ciacchi, whose background includes more than 7,000 hours of flight time and service flying the F-104 in the Italian Air Force.

“The F-104 has a storied history in supersonic aviation, setting numerous speed, altitude, and time-to-climb records and serving both the Air Force and NASA during the early years of the space program,” said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space, in the company's release. “More than 2,500 F-104s were built for air forces around the world, but today only a handful remain airworthy, and most are in our fleet. We are proud to keep them flying as platforms for aerospace research and testing, and to showcase them to airshow audiences when we have the opportunity.”

Why a 1950s Jet Still Matters to Aerospace Testing

The F-104 Starfighter first flew in the 1950s and became a record-setting icon of the supersonic age, serving both the U.S. Air Force and NASA in the early years of the space program. What makes the aircraft relevant now is not nostalgia but physics and economics: a flight-ready jet that can reach sustained Mach 2+ speeds provides a reusable, relatively low-cost way to carry instruments, materials, and payloads into a high-speed flight environment that is otherwise expensive and difficult to access. For programs developing hypersonic technologies, missile-defense systems, and spaceflight hardware, that kind of repeatable high-speed test platform is a genuinely useful tool.

Starfighters bases its F-104 fleet at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at the Midland Air and Space Port in Texas, and markets the aircraft as configurable platforms for air-launched payloads, pilot training, and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation across hypersonics, missile defense, microgravity science, spaceflight hardware, advanced materials, and defense electronic systems. An airshow appearance is, at one level, a public-facing brand moment, but it also puts a scarce and specialized capability in front of a broad audience at a time when high-speed aerospace testing is drawing significant government and commercial interest.

The Space and Defense Landscape

Starfighters is a small, early-stage company, but it operates against a backdrop of intense investment in space and defense technology, where hypersonics, launch, and space-enabled systems have become national priorities. The companies below are referenced solely as market and sector context. They are vastly larger and at materially different stages than Starfighters, are not peers, competitors, or financial comparables, and their results are not indicative of Starfighters' prospects. All figures are approximate and subject to change.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a defense-technology company known for jet-powered drones, hypersonic test vehicles, and propulsion systems, with direct exposure to some of the most sought-after areas in defense today, including hypersonics and missile-defense architecture. Its hypersonic-test-vehicle and high-speed-flight work makes it the closest thematic reference here to a company built around high-speed aerospace testing.

Kratos has been among the stronger-performing defense names, beating earnings and raising guidance across recent quarters while drawing attention for its exposure to missile-defense and hypersonics priorities. It is referenced only as sector context, a far larger and more established company than Starfighters, whose results are not indicative of Starfighters' prospects.

Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB)

Rocket Lab is a launch and space-systems company that operates its Electron rocket, is developing the larger Neutron vehicle, and builds satellites and space systems for commercial, government, and defense customers. It represents the launch-and-space-systems end of the sector that high-speed aerospace testing ultimately feeds into.

Rocket Lab has reported strong revenue growth and a substantial backlog, and has been among the most closely watched names in the recent space-sector rally. It is referenced purely as market and sector context, a substantially larger and more established company than Starfighters operating a different business model, and not as a comparable.

Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW)

Redwire builds space infrastructure and components, including structures, solar arrays, sensors, and in-space manufacturing hardware, and has expanded into drone and defense-adjacent systems. It illustrates the space-infrastructure supply chain that supports the broader buildout Starfighters' testing work is oriented toward.

Redwire has reported record revenue and backlog during 2026 and has been one of the higher-flying names in the space cohort, though it has also seen sharp volatility. It is referenced solely as sector context, a larger and more established company than Starfighters, and not as a peer or financial comparable.

Karman Space & Defense (NYSE: KRMN)

Karman Space & Defense designs and manufactures payload protection, propulsion, and interstage systems for missile-defense, hypersonics, and space-launch programs, supplying hardware into U.S. defense and space-sector launch vehicles and spacecraft. Its hypersonics and missile-defense supply-chain focus places it in the same broad defense-technology theme that Starfighters' testing platforms serve.

Karman, which listed publicly in 2025, has continued to report results tied to missile-defense, hypersonics, and space-launch demand. It is referenced only as market and sector context, a larger and more established company than Starfighters operating in a different part of the value chain, and not as a comparable.

The Bottom Line

An airshow appearance is not a financial catalyst, and Starfighters remains a small, early-stage company whose prospects depend on converting a genuinely rare capability, a flight-ready Mach 2+ fleet, into sustained commercial and government testing demand, with the execution, funding, and regulatory risks that come with that. But the appearance highlights what makes the story distinctive: a scarce, hard-to-replicate asset positioned squarely within the hypersonics, missile-defense, and spaceflight-testing priorities drawing capital across the sector. This is a description of a company and its sector, not a prediction about its stock or a recommendation of any kind. Investors can follow the story through American News Group as it develops.

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Article Sources:

[1] Starfighters Space, Inc., “Starfighters Space to Participate in AIRSHO at Midland International Air & Space Port,” September 1, 2026 (event participation, fleet description, pilot background, platform capabilities, and executive commentary), at www.starfightersspace.com.

[2] Public disclosures and market data of the referenced companies (Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Rocket Lab Corporation, Redwire Corporation, and Karman Space & Defense) as cited in the body of this article.

[3] Industry reporting on hypersonics, missile defense, launch, and space-sector investment and demand.

American News Group | editor@americannewsgroup.com

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References to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., Rocket Lab Corporation, Redwire Corporation and Karman Space & Defense are provided solely as market and sector context. Those companies are not peers, competitors, or financial comparables of Starfighters Space, Inc. They are vastly larger and at materially different stages of development and scale, operate different businesses and models, and their revenue, products, and share performance are not indicative of Starfighters Space, Inc.'s prospects. No partnership, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is implied, and none of them has any involvement in Starfighters Space, Inc., this article, or its distribution.

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