The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine eternal hardpoints, including air-to- air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was initially 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.