I would suggest you talk with several SR-71drivers concerning whether they
would knowingly fly into a "Mig-25 infested" area with the Mig-25 drivers
knowing he was there. The answer is and would be a resounding NO! And why,
because the Mig-25 would have a reasonable chance of blowing his butt right out
of the sky. Just because it never happened doesn't mean it can't.

Keep in mind, to the best of my knowledge, all Mig-25/SR-71 encounters occurred
off shore, not a direct invasion of Soviet airspace (different rules there
gentlemen). Put a SR over Moscow and watch what happens. I suspect little
pieces of titanium would be littering the countryside.

A good comparison is the F-15 vs Mig-25. The F-15 could not tail chase the
Mig-25 on its best day, as the Mig-25 could not tail chase a SR. The delta
speed differences are about the same between the two comparison. But yet, the
Israels dropped two Mig-25s with F-15s. The reasons are simple, and it has
nothing to do with speed. The answer lies within proper tactics and
tracking/firecontrol systems.

The point being made is that there are no winners and losers with the Mig-25
and SR. The Mig-25 and SR served their missions well. The 25 kept western
world aircraft out of their airspace, and the SR performed recce missions that
simply could not have been done with other aircraft.

As far as the SR retiring, the Mig-31 had very little, it not nothing to do
with it. That was simply the cost of operations coupled with new capability.