The MiG-25 (NATO reporting name Foxbat) was an interceptor produced by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the 1960s. Armed solely with AA-6 air-to-air missiles, it was designed to meet the threat of the American XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber, and therefore has better speed and altitude performance than any other fighter aircraft, with a maximum speed of Mach 3.2 and a ceiling of 90,000 feet.
However, the MiG-25, built for sheer speed, is inferior to almost all other jet fighters in maneuverability, and was therefore somewhat redundant as an interceptor following the XB-70's cancellation. In service, the aircraft had to be limited to Mach 2.8, as higher speeds tended to overheat and wreck the engines.
NATO Response
A false appreciation of its abilities caused NATO to develop new designs to counter this perception. Poor information gathering led to NATO's belief that the Foxbat was a long-range, high-maneuverability fighter-interceptor. This perception led to the creation of several extremely advanced fighters, including the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and the Dassault Mirage 2000.
Belenko Defection
On September 6, 1976, a MiG-25 flown by Lt. Viktor Belenko landed at Hakodate airport, Japan. The aircraft was carefully dismantled and analysed by the Foreign Technology Division of the USAF. The analysis revealed that the majority of onboard avionics was based on vacuum tube technology (possibly deliberate for EMP resistance), welding was done by hand, construction was relatively crude, combat radius was only 186 miles, there was no pilot ejection system, maximum G rating was just 2.2 with full fuel tanks, and the aircraft was built of steel alloy rather than titanium.
Specifications
Armament
- AA-6 Acrid
- AA-7 Apex
- AA-8 Aphid