Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 27, 2025
From 1968 to 1992, the United Kingdom used the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II as one of its principal combat aircraft. The Phantom was procured to serve in both the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force (RAF) in several different roles. Most Phantoms operated by the UK were built as a special batch containing a significant amount of British technology. Two variants were initially built: the F-4K was a carrier-based air-defence interceptor for the Fleet Air Arm, while the F-4M was initially used by the RAF for tactical strike and reconnaissance, before transitioning to an air defence role in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, a third Phantom variant was obtained when fifteen former US Navy F-4J aircraft were purchased to augment the UK's air defences. Although the Fleet Air Arm ceased using the Phantom in 1978, the RAF retained it until 1992, when it was withdrawn as part of a series of post-Cold War defence cuts. (Full article...)