 The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2 @.@ 2 . It can carry more than 18 @,@ 000 pounds ( 8 @,@ 400 kg ) of weapons on nine external hardpoints , including air @-@ to @-@ air missiles , air @-@ to @-@ ground missiles , and various bombs . The F @-@ 4 , like other interceptors of its time , was designed without an internal cannon . Later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon . Beginning in 1959 , it set 15 world records for in @-@ flight performance , including an absolute speed record , and an absolute altitude record . 
