The Company's mission statement is to make space accessible to entrepreneurs, researchers, industry, and government at a high cadence and the right cost. Currently, Starfighters operates the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready F-104 supersonic aircraft ("Lockheed F-104"). The Lockheed F-104 was developed as a supersonic aircraft for the United States Armed Forces. The single engine interceptor was favoured for its maximum altitude and climb performance. It was the first production aircraft to reach over MACH 2 in sustained, level flight, which was one of the key criteria as to why the NASA used the Lockheed F-104 for high-speed flight research at the Dryden Flight Research Center. The Lockheed F-104 also performed many safety chase missions in support of advanced research aircraft and provided a launch platform for sounding rockets(1). Test flights showed that a Lockheed F-104 launched single-stage Viper sounding rocket attain a maximum 112km in altitude(2). In total, the Lockheed F-104 flew over 18,000 missions for NASA. NASA retired the Lockheed F-104 in 1995(3), with transition to the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet supersonic Aircraft(4). Recent increases in government expenditures and commercial investment are driving growth in the space economy(5). We believe this increase has created a demand for services similar to those that Lockheed F-104s formerly owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") used to provide. That demand is for commercial, research and defense technologies including hypersonic research(6). To the Company's knowledge, there is currently no other aircraft commercially available to the public with the capabilities of the Lockheed F-104 in terms of speed and climbing performance. The Company has built a consistent business by providing pilot and astronaut training and in-flight testing related services (the "Historical Services"), delivering over its history, solutions for defense, civil, academic and commercial uses, and expects to continue to serve a range of customers in the private and public sectors. Furthermore, we believe the increased demand for space access, particularly in lower earth orbits as well as the government and private sector's focus on hypersonic research and development combine to create new opportunities for Starfighters Space (the "New Services"). The Company aims to address these needs through its existing fleet of seven Lockheed F-104 Aircraft, currently based at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Midland International Air & Space Port, as well as through the acquisition of the Platform II Aircraft which the Company believes will provide more advanced capabilities and have a longer operating lifespan. Starfighters is providing its core group of Historical Services, while developing the capacity for New Services. The Company organizes its services into the following categories: º Historical Services: º Pilot and Astronaut Training; º Launch Services and Access to Space; and º In-flight Testing. º New Services: º Launch Services and "Access to Space" (commercial, academic, civil and government clients); and º Airborne Testbed for Hypersonic Research and Development ("R&D") and Test and Evaluation ("T&E") Test Bed (commercial, academic, civil and government). (1) Jaroslaw Dobrzyński, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Yellow Series (Mushroom Model Publications, 2015). (2) F-104 Launched Sounding Rockets, The Unwanted Blog (Jun. 2, 2012), The Unwanted Blog. (3) F-104 Starfighter, NASA (Sept. 27, 2009), NASA. (4) Roy Bryant, The Lockheed F104s of NASAs Flight Research Center, Stars of NASA (Feb. 2004), Stars of NASA. (5) Space Foundation, The Space Report 2025 Q2 Highlights Record $613 Billion Global Space Economy for 2024, Driven by Strong Commercial Sector Growth (22 July 2025), online: . [https://perma.cc/V2HE-4EJT]. (6) U.S. Naval Institute Staff, Report to Congress on Hypersonic Weapons, U.S. Naval Institute (Feb. 16, 2024, 12:27 PM), U.S. Naval Institute. Starfighters Space, Inc. ("Starfighters") was founded and incorporated under the laws of the Delaware on September 6, 2022. The Company's goal is to make space accessible to entrepreneurs, researchers, industry participants, and the government at a high cadence and the right cost. The Company's head office and mailing address is located in Cape Canaveral, FL.
Read More on Starfighters Space