After the MiG-25, no other new hunt went from 3,400 km / h

In the early 1970s, it was enough to pronounce the acronym "MiG-25" in front of NATO generals to cause them panic. There were rumors about the capabilities of a new Soviet fighter and they were simply out of the ordinary.

Designed by Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG), the MiG-25 was considered a "pure" super-hunt, faster than any other aircraft then operational in the world at the time. The new aircraft was so frightening that the United States rushed to develop the F-15 Eagle, which was supposed to be the enemy capable of detaining "Foxbat" as it was called in NATO's name. common.

The much-feared Soviet fighter was made almost entirely of steel, material that the designers of the West had stopped using on high-performance aircraft several years earlier. At the same time, American fighters were built with aluminum and titanium - more expensive.

Experts sent to Japan found that the MiG-25 could fly at 3,400 km / h, but could only maintain that speed for a few minutes. The two huge turbojets of the hunting, Tumanskii RD-31 models, were powerful (each generating 11 tons of thrust), but consumed so much fuel that the autonomy of the hunting was drastically compromised. The electronic part of the aircraft was also unwanted and in some respects was already completely obsolete: the radar still used thermionic valves, a technology of World War II, while American fighters were already entering the digital age.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25