Drag increases significantly as the speed approaches Mach 1.0 (which is why commercial airliners stay below about Mach 0.8), but decreases significantly after t

Drag increases significantly as the speed approaches Mach 1.0 (which is why commercial airliners stay below about Mach 0.8), but decreases significantly after that. So, just because a plane needs afterburners to attain supersonic speed doesn't mean it needs them to remain in supersonic flight. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Qualitive_variation_of_cd_with_mach_number.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Qualitiv...