Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com> wrote in
news:q1km5j0es@drn.newsguy.com:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25
>
> The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Russian: ?????? ? ??????? ???-25; NATO
> reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance
> aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter
> service. It was designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau
> and is one of the few combat aircraft built primarily using stainless
> steel. It was the last plane designed by Mikhail Gurevich before his
> retirement.
>
> The first prototype flew in 1964, and the aircraft entered service in
> 1970. It has an operational top speed of Mach 2.83 (Mach 3.2 is
> possible but at risk of significant damage to the engines) and
> features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles. When first
> seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing suggested an
> enormous and highly maneuverable fighter, at a time when U.S. design
> theories were also evolving towards higher maneuverability due to
> combat performance in the Vietnam War. The appearance of the MiG-25
> sparked serious concern in the West and prompted dramatic increases in
> performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle then under
> development in the late 1960s. The capabilities of the MiG-25 were
> better understood in 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected in
> a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. It turned out that the
> aircraft's weight necessitated its large wings.
>
> Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of
> 1,186 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with Soviet
> allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in
> several export customers. It is one of the highest-flying military
> aircraft, one of the fastest serially produced interceptor aircraft,
> and the second-fastest serially produced aircraft after the SR-71
> reconnaissance aircraft that was built in very small series compared
> to the MiG-25.
I read somewhere that the appearance of the
Foxbat caused the cancellation of the B-70.
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