F15 v Saturn V
I recall the F15 adverts claiming that it could beat a Saturn V moonshot from brakes off to - I think - 70,000 feet. After that the Saturn started to pull away ...
I suspect that the F15 was the first aircraft that could give a Lightning a real contest in climbing to altitude, but I remember poring over my dog-eared Observer's Book of Aircraft and noting that the Draken ran it quite close on published figures