"Venik" wrote in message
...
Alan Minyard wrote:

The Mig never intercepted an SR-71, and if it could have, it would have.
The
SR-71s were retired as strategic recon is now done by satellites.

I suppose that why all US recon planes were retired. Oh, wait, they
weren not. Oops, next explanation...

The Mig-31
never had an impact on US planing.

There've been entire books written on the impact of the MiG-31 on the US
planning.

Can you name a single such book? I would sincerely be interested in
obtaining a copy.

Besides, when you state that the MiG-25 or MiG-31 have had such an "impact"
on US planing that the SR-71 was retired, why don't you then also explain
about the impact of the F-14 on further developments of MiG-25s?

Namely, this was stopped on a direct order from Moscow after a second
Soviet-flown MiG-25BMs on testing in Iraq was shot down by Iranian F-14s
(using "non-operational" AIM-54s) - in 1987.

In fact, you could then go on and explain about impact the losses of
Soviet-flown Foxbats in Iraq had on a decision to sell Su-24MKs to Syria,
Iraq and Libya instead. Then, all of these countries were originally
completely desinterested in Fencer and actually waiting for IFR-probe
equipped Foxbats to be readied for service: yet, when the news about the
loss of a MiG-25BM near Tehran, in November 1987, reached specific bureaus
in Baghdad, Damascus, and Tripolis all the orders were "suddenly" cancelled,
and also a specific directive was issued in Moscow. Would you be so kind to
tell us why?

I'm sure you'll agree, Venik, that you have a strong predilection of
"providing evidence" for some kind of "superiority" of Soviet-built weapons
and their "impact" on Western thinking and planing.

OK, no problem; I understand your point - regardless of your inability to
provide serious evidence.

But, I don't understand why do you then ignore the impact of Western
technology on Soviet thinking and planing? Why ignore the amount of
Western-technology used to develop specific Soviet systems (the Kh-58, main
armament of the MiG-25BM, for example, was developed from French-built
AJ.168 ARM, supplied to USSR via Iraq) or ignore Soviet own negative
experiences with some of their most potent systems...?

MiG-25s were shot down in combat - and not only three by the Israelis, but
almost two dozens by the Iranians (the first one already in 1976). The SR-71
was never shot down by anybody - even if more than 4.000 SAMs were fired at
them. Is it now so that these figures talk a language you can't understand?

--


Tom Cooper
Freelance Aviation Journalist & Historian
Vienna, Austria

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Author:
Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988:
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php

Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...hp/title=S7875

Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...hp/title=S6585

African MiGs
http://www.acig.org/afmig/

Arab MiG-19 & MiG-21 Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...=S6550~ser=COM

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