Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

Miloch wrote in
:

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.