More than 50 years since it was introduced into the service, the MiG-25 still remains the fastest military aircraft in the category of fighter jets, including those from fourth and fifth generations. The fighter jet, also known as Foxbat (NATO reporting name) was mentioned in the article published at the military-themed portal We Are the Mighty.
According to the article, the world’s fastest fighter jet, the MiG-25 frightened the US and its NATO allies when it was designed by the Soviet Union. At the time it was the only plane in the SSSR arsenal which might be able to catch SR-71 Blackbird. According to some sources, it was also codenamed as the “Blackbird Killer.”
At that time, in 1964, the SR-71 couldn’t be caught by any air defense, rendered nearly invulnerable due to its blazing speed and high altitude. The Soviets, though, created a plane that could give it a close chase. In fact, the MiG-25 was originally designed to catch another deadly airframe, the B-70 Valkyrie bomber.
The MiG-25’s turbojet design makes it possible for the plane to reach a speed of up to 2.8 Mach (around 3,500 km/h, or 2,150 mph) in operational conditions, or even 3.2 Mach (close to 4,000 km/h or 2,450 mph). The aircraft’s speed combined with its possible manoeuvering capability would have left any western plane far behind at that time, and even today.
However, after a Soviet pilot defected to Japan with his MiG-25 in 1976, the NATO tested the plane, learning it didn’t have a look-down, shoot-down radar system, and wasn’t maneuverable enough to defeat its rivals. The Soviets have built a lot of MiG-25s (around 1,200, the exact number not known). Some of the fighter jets were exported to countries like Syria, Iraq, and Libya, but most of them remained in Soviet service.
At that time, he was the only plane able to catch SR-71. The MiG-25 Foxbat had a top speed of 2,156 miles per hour (compared to the SR-71 Blackbird’s 2,200 miles per hour) and its primary weapon was the AA-6 Acrid.
For sure, it found his place in the world’s history and has become a symbol of the past time.
It was a technological backwards aircraft not capable of battle, just a fast aircraft that would not fight. That’s it.
American enginuity…no.one brother