Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia (October 12, 2023): It is a spectacular sight, an airplane appearing to be engulfed in smoke, as if about to explode. Fortunately, the plane is ok and the effect we are witnessing is a fascinating piece of physics. In this photo by Senior Airman Zachary Rufus, an F-22 Raptor assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron takes off during the 2023 William Tell Air-to-Air Competition held at the Savannah Air National Guard base in Savannah, Georgia.

The apparent “smoke” consuming the Raptor is really water droplets forming around the plane which creates a drop in air pressure at extremely high speeds. The phenomenon is called a vapor cone or shock collar and it occurs when the fighter passes through "high transonic" speeds, probably going more than seven hundred miles per hour.

This spectacular spray of vapor around a fighter differs from high altitude contrails, or condensation trails, that form streaks of condensed water vapor that form behind larger aircraft at high altitudes. Also, fossil fuel combustion (as in piston and jet engines) produces carbon dioxide that mixes with the water vapor and frigid air to form these remarkable displays of physics.