Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Encyclopedia
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
and reconnaissance
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of 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 off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in 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. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced.
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
and strategic bomber
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
The first prototype was a reconnaissance variant, designated "Ye-155-R1", and made its first flight on 6 March 1964. It had some characteristics that was unique to that prototype, and some of these were visually very evident: The wings had fixed wingtip tanks (600 litre capacity) to which small winglets were attached for stability purposes, but when it was found fuel sloshing around in the tanks caused vibrations they were eliminated. The aircraft also had attachments for movable foreplanes, canards
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
, engineering
and metallurgy
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
, and 9% titanium
. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.
Full scale production of the MiG-25R ('Foxbat-B') began in 1969 at the Gorkii aircraft factory (Plant No.21). The MiG-25P ("Foxbat-A") followed in 1971, and 460 of this variant was built until production ended in 1982. The improved PD variant that replaced it was built from 1978 till 1984 with 104 aircraft completed. But from then on the Gorkii factory switched over production to the new MiG-31.
A non-combat trainer
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
variant, carrying four Raduga
Kh-58
(NATO reporting name
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Inaccurate intelligence analysis caused the West initially to believe the MiG-25 was an agile air-combat fighter rather than an interceptor. In response, the United States started a new program which resulted in the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. NATO obtained a better understanding of the MiG-25's capabilities on 6 September 1976, when a Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot, Lt. Viktor Belenko
, defected
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
in Japan.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
radar
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
showed more promise.
On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
s and satellite imagery
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
and reconnaissance
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of 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 off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in 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. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced."Global Aircraft – Top 50 Fastest Aircraft." The Global Aircraft Organization, 24 April 2007. Retrieved: 30 June 2011.
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
and strategic bomber
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
The first prototype was a reconnaissance variant, designated "Ye-155-R1", and made its first flight on 6 March 1964. It had some characteristics that was unique to that prototype, and some of these were visually very evident: The wings had fixed wingtip tanks (600 litre capacity) to which small winglets were attached for stability purposes, but when it was found fuel sloshing around in the tanks caused vibrations they were eliminated. The aircraft also had attachments for movable foreplanes, canards
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
, engineering
and metallurgy
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
, and 9% titanium
.Eden 2004, p. 308. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.Goebel, Greg. "MiG-25." vectorsite.net. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
Full scale production of the MiG-25R ('Foxbat-B') began in 1969 at the Gorkii aircraft factory (Plant No.21). The MiG-25P ("Foxbat-A") followed in 1971, and 460 of this variant was built until production ended in 1982. The improved PD variant that replaced it was built from 1978 till 1984 with 104 aircraft completed. But from then on the Gorkii factory switched over production to the new MiG-31.
A non-combat trainer
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
variant, carrying four Raduga
Kh-58
(NATO reporting name
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Inaccurate intelligence analysis caused the West initially to believe the MiG-25 was an agile air-combat fighter rather than an interceptor. In response, the United States started a new program which resulted in the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. NATO obtained a better understanding of the MiG-25's capabilities on 6 September 1976, when a Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot, Lt. Viktor Belenko
, defected
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
in Japan.Barron 1980, p. 15.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
radar
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
showed more promise.
On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully."Foxbats over Sinai." spyflight.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile"Intelligence Community Assessment of the Lieutenant Commander Speicher Case". CIA, FOIA Electronic Reading Room, 27 March 2001. Retrieved: 10 September 2006. probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.Bhonsle 2006, p. 256.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
s and satellite imagery
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
and reconnaissance
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of 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 off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in 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. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced."Global Aircraft – Top 50 Fastest Aircraft." The Global Aircraft Organization, 24 April 2007. Retrieved: 30 June 2011.
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
and strategic bomber
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
The first prototype was a reconnaissance variant, designated "Ye-155-R1", and made its first flight on 6 March 1964. It had some characteristics that was unique to that prototype, and some of these were visually very evident: The wings had fixed wingtip tanks (600 litre capacity) to which small winglets were attached for stability purposes, but when it was found fuel sloshing around in the tanks caused vibrations they were eliminated. The aircraft also had attachments for movable foreplanes, canards
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
, engineering
and metallurgy
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
, and 9% titanium
.Eden 2004, p. 308. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.Goebel, Greg. "MiG-25." vectorsite.net. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
Full scale production of the MiG-25R ('Foxbat-B') began in 1969 at the Gorkii aircraft factory (Plant No.21). The MiG-25P ("Foxbat-A") followed in 1971, and 460 of this variant was built until production ended in 1982. The improved PD variant that replaced it was built from 1978 till 1984 with 104 aircraft completed. But from then on the Gorkii factory switched over production to the new MiG-31.
A non-combat trainer
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
variant, carrying four Raduga
Kh-58
(NATO reporting name
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Inaccurate intelligence analysis caused the West initially to believe the MiG-25 was an agile air-combat fighter rather than an interceptor. In response, the United States started a new program which resulted in the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. NATO obtained a better understanding of the MiG-25's capabilities on 6 September 1976, when a Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot, Lt. Viktor Belenko
, defected
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
in Japan.Barron 1980, p. 15.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
radar
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
showed more promise.
On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully."Foxbats over Sinai." spyflight.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile"Intelligence Community Assessment of the Lieutenant Commander Speicher Case". CIA, FOIA Electronic Reading Room, 27 March 2001. Retrieved: 10 September 2006. probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.Bhonsle 2006, p. 256.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
s and satellite imagery
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.Gunston and Spick 1983, pp. 132–133.
MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, fitted with a RP-25 look-down/shoot down radar, and an undernose IR search and track system, powered by two Tumansky R-15BD-300 turbojet engines, armed with two R-40 and four R-60
air-to-air missiles.
MiG-25PDS: This designation was applied to all surviving MiG-25P "Foxbat A"s. The aircraft were subsequently upgraded in the early 1980s.
Libya
– The largest operator historically, Soviet aircraft were passed on to its successor states in 1991.
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of time when U.S. design theories were also evolving towards higher maneuverability due to combat performance in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The appearance of the MiG-25 sparked off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in late 1960s. The capabilities of the MiG-25 were better understood in 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
defected in a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced.
Background
During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
and strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
Designing a new interceptor
Work on the new Russian interceptor that would become the MiG-25 started in mid-1959, a year before Soviet intelligence learned of the American Mach 3 A-12 reconnaissance aircraft. It is not clear if the design was influenced by the American A-5 Vigilante. Requirements could easily have led the design team to use a similar layout. The promise of the new design roused the military's interest in both VVS and PVO. In February 1961 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a joint directive with the Council of Ministers of the USSR, tasking the Mikoyan OKB with the development of an aircraft designated Ye-155, the interceptor and reconnaissance versions of which were designated Ye-155P (Perekhvatchik - radar-directed, all weather interceptor) and Ye-155R (Razvedchik-reconnaissance) respectively. On 10 March 1961, Mikoyan signed a formal order to start design work on the Ye-155.The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
Record breaker
The Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau soon realized that the performance of the new aircraft gave it great potential to set new flight records. In addition to their normal duties, the prototypes Ye-155-P1, Ye-155-R1, Ye-155-R3 were made lighter by removing some unneeded equipment, and were used for these attempts. Under Federation Aeronautique InternationaleFédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
- The first claim was for world speed records with payloads of 1,000 and 2,000 kilogram. Test pilot Alexander Fedotov reached an average speed of 2,319.12 km/h over a 1,000 km circuit in 16 March 1965.
- For pure speed, with no payload, test pilot Mikhail M. Komarov averaged 2,982.5 km/h over a 500 km closed circuit in 1967, three months after the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo. On the same day A. Fedotov reached an altitude of 29977 metres (98,349.7 ft) with a 1,000 kilogram payload. But the MiG could go higher and eventually it became the first aircraft to go higher than 35000 metres (114,829.4 ft).
- Time to height records were recorded on 4 June 1973 when Boris A. Orlov climbed to 20,000 m in 2 min 49.8 sec. The same day, Pyotr M. Ostapenko reached 25,000 in 3 min 12.6 and 30,000 m in 4 min 3.86 sec.
- On 25 July 1973, A. Fedotov reached 35,230m with 1,000 kg payload, and 36,240 m with no load (an absolute world record). In the thin air, the engines flamed out and the aircraft coasted on in a ballistic trajectory by inertia alone. At the apex the speed had dropped to 75 km/h.
- A few years later, on 31 August 1977, "Ye-266M" flown by MiG OKB Chief Test Pilot Alexander V. Fedotov, set the recognized absolute altitude record for a jet aircraft under its own power. He reached 37650 metres (123,523.6 ft) at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in zoom climbZoom climbA zoom climb is a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum for a sustained climb, as determined from the thrust of the aircraft's engines. During a zoom climb, the aircraft accelerates to a high air speed at an altitude at which it can operate in sustained level flight. The pilot...
(the absolute altitude is a different record than the sustained altitude in horizontal flight). The aircraft was actually a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
Technical description
Because of the thermal stresses incurred in flight above Mach 2, the Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB had difficulties choosing what materials to use for the aircraft. They had to use E-2 heat-resistant plexiglass for the canopy, and high-strength stainless steel for the wings and fuselage. Using titanium rather than steel would have been ideal, but it was expensive and difficult to work. The problem of cracks in welded titanium structures with thin walls could not be solved, so the heavier nickel steel was used instead. It cost far less than titanium and allowed for welding, along with heat resistant seals. The MiG-25 was constructed from 80% nickel steel alloy, 11% aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, and 9% titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.
Into production
A non-combat trainer
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses , also known as "Wild Weasel" and "Iron Hand" operations in the United States, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses , primarily in the first hours of an attack.One fourth of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD...
variant, carrying four Raduga
MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga is a Russian aerospace company, concerned with the production of various missile systems and related technologies. It is headquartered in Dubna in the Moscow Oblast...
Kh-58
Kh-58
The Kh-58 is a Russian anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and her allies. It is being superseded by the Kh-31.-Development:...
(NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Western intelligence and the MiG-25
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
, defected
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
Hakodate Airport
, is an airport located east of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It serves as the hub for airtransse.- History :...
in Japan.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
- Belenko's particular aircraft was brand new, representing the very latest Soviet technology.
- The aircraft was assembled very quickly, and was essentially built around its massive Tumansky R-15Tumansky R-15- External links :* *...
(B) turbojets. - WeldingWeldingWelding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
was done by hand. Rivets with non-flush heads were used in areas that would not cause adverse aerodynamic dragDrag (physics)In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
. - The aircraft was built of a nickel alloy and not titaniumTitaniumTitanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
as was assumed (though some titanium was used in heat-critical areas). The steel construction contributed to the craft's 64,000 lb (29,000 kg) unarmed weight. - Maximum acceleration (g-loadG-forceThe g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
) rating was just 2.2 g (21.6 m/s²) with full fuel tanks, with an absolute limit of 4.5 g (44.1 m/s²). One MiG-25 withstood an inadvertent 11.5 g (112.8 m/s²) pull during low-altitude dogfight training, but the resulting deformation damaged the airframe beyond repair. - Combat radius was 186 miles (299.3 km), and maximum range on internal fuel (at subsonic speeds) was only 744 miles (1,197.3 km) at low altitude (< 1000 meter).
- The airspeed indicatorAirspeed indicatorThe airspeed indicator or airspeed gauge is an instrument used in an aircraft to display the craft's airspeed, typically in knots, to the pilot.- Use :...
was redlined at Mach 2.8, with typical intercept speeds near Mach 2.5 in order to extend the service life of the engines. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 in the early 1970s, but the flight led to the destruction of its engines. - The majority of the on-board avionicsAvionicsAvionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
were based on vacuum-tubeVacuum tubeIn electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
technology, not solid-state electronics. Although they represented aging technology, vacuum tubes were more tolerant of temperature extremes, thereby removing the need for providing complex environmental controls inside the avionics bays. In addition, the vacuum tubes were easy to replace in remote northern airfields where sophisticated transistor parts might not have been readily available. With the use of vacuum tubes, the MiG-25P's original Smerch-A (Tornado, NATO reporting name "Foxfire") radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
had enormous power – about 600 kilowattWattThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. As with most Soviet aircraft, the MiG-25 was designed to be as rugged as possible. The use of vacuum tubes also makes the aircraft's systems resistant to an electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulseAn electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, for example after a nuclear blast.
Later versions
As the result of Belenko's defection and the compromise of the MiG-25P's radar and missile systems, beginning in 1976, the Soviets started to develop an advanced version, the MiG-25PD ("Foxbat-E"). This upgrade consisted of new RP-25 Sapfir (Sapphire) look-down/shoot-downLook-down/shoot-down
Look-down/shoot-down is a capability a radar system is said to possess if it is able to detect, track and put a weapon onto an air target moving below the horizon as seen by the radar...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
Infra-red search and track
An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.-Development:...
showed more promise.
Over Israel and Iran
The unarmed 'B' version had greater impact than the interceptor when the USSR sent two MiG-25R, and two MiG-25RB to Egypt in March 1971 and stayed until July 1972. They were operated by the Soviet 63rd Independent Air Detachment (Det 63) set up specially for this mission. Det 63 flew over Israeli held territory in Sinai on reconnaissance missions roughly 20 times. The flights were in pairs at maximum speed and high altitude (between 17,000–23,000 m).On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
Iran-Iraq War
The MiG-25 was in service with the Iraqi Air ForceIraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
Mohommed Rayyan
Colonel Mohommed Rayyan, nicknamed "Sky Falcon," was a fighter pilot with the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War. He claimed 10 air combat kills, making him an ace and the most successful Iraqi fighter pilot of that war....
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
Persian Gulf War
During the Persian Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
Scott Speicher
Michael Scott Speicher was a United States Navy pilot who was shot down over Iraq during the Gulf War. He was the first American combat casualty of the conflict. His remains were not recovered until Aug. 2, 2009...
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
Iraqi no-fly zones
The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
AIM-92 Stinger
The AIM-92 Stinger or ATAS is an air-to-air missile developed from the shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger system, for use on helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Eurocopter Tiger and also UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator...
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
India
The MiG-25 was kept a guarded secret in India, and was nicknamed GarudaGaruda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s and satellite imagery
Satellite imagery
Satellite imagery consists of photographs of Earth or other planets made by means of artificial satellites.- History :The first images from space were taken on sub-orbital flights. The U.S-launched V-2 flight on October 24, 1946 took one image every 1.5 seconds...
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
Variants
Ye-133: This designation was given to one aircraft, it was used by Svetlana SavitskayaSvetlana Savitskaya
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya She started training as a cosmonaut in 1980. Upon returning to Earth, Savitskaya was assigned as the commander of an all-female Soyuz crew to Salyut 7 in commemoration of the International Women's Day, a mission that was later canceled.She was twice awarded the Hero...
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
Tumansky R-15
- External links :* *...
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of time when U.S. design theories were also evolving towards higher maneuverability due to combat performance in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The appearance of the MiG-25 sparked off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in late 1960s. The capabilities of the MiG-25 were better understood in 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
defected in a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced."Global Aircraft – Top 50 Fastest Aircraft." The Global Aircraft Organization, 24 April 2007. Retrieved: 30 June 2011.
Background
During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
and strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
Designing a new interceptor
Work on the new Russian interceptor that would become the MiG-25 started in mid-1959, a year before Soviet intelligence learned of the American Mach 3 A-12 reconnaissance aircraft.Spick 2000 It is not clear if the design was influenced by the American A-5 Vigilante. Requirements could easily have led the design team to use a similar layout. The promise of the new design roused the military's interest in both VVS and PVO. In February 1961 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a joint directive with the Council of Ministers of the USSR, tasking the Mikoyan OKB with the development of an aircraft designated Ye-155, the interceptor and reconnaissance versions of which were designated Ye-155P (Perekhvatchik - radar-directed, all weather interceptor) and Ye-155R (Razvedchik-reconnaissance) respectively. On 10 March 1961, Mikoyan signed a formal order to start design work on the Ye-155.The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
Record breaker
The Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau soon realized that the performance of the new aircraft gave it great potential to set new flight records. In addition to their normal duties, the prototypes Ye-155-P1, Ye-155-R1, Ye-155-R3 were made lighter by removing some unneeded equipment, and were used for these attempts. Under Federation Aeronautique InternationaleFédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
- The first claim was for world speed records with payloads of 1,000 and 2,000 kilogram. Test pilot Alexander Fedotov reached an average speed of 2,319.12 km/h over a 1,000 km circuit in 16 March 1965.
- For pure speed, with no payload, test pilot Mikhail M. Komarov averaged 2,982.5 km/h over a 500 km closed circuit in 1967, three months after the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo. On the same day A. Fedotov reached an altitude of 29977 metres (98,349.7 ft) with a 1,000 kilogram payload. But the MiG could go higher and eventually it became the first aircraft to go higher than 35000 metres (114,829.4 ft).
- Time to height records were recorded on 4 June 1973 when Boris A. Orlov climbed to 20,000 m in 2 min 49.8 sec. The same day, Pyotr M. Ostapenko reached 25,000 in 3 min 12.6 and 30,000 m in 4 min 3.86 sec.
- On 25 July 1973, A. Fedotov reached 35,230m with 1,000 kg payload, and 36,240 m with no load (an absolute world record). In the thin air, the engines flamed out and the aircraft coasted on in a ballistic trajectory by inertia alone. At the apex the speed had dropped to 75 km/h.
- A few years later, on 31 August 1977, "Ye-266M" flown by MiG OKB Chief Test Pilot Alexander V. Fedotov, set the recognized absolute altitude record for a jet aircraft under its own power. He reached 37650 metres (123,523.6 ft) at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in zoom climbZoom climbA zoom climb is a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum for a sustained climb, as determined from the thrust of the aircraft's engines. During a zoom climb, the aircraft accelerates to a high air speed at an altitude at which it can operate in sustained level flight. The pilot...
(the absolute altitude is a different record than the sustained altitude in horizontal flight). The aircraft was actually a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
Technical description
Because of the thermal stresses incurred in flight above Mach 2, the Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB had difficulties choosing what materials to use for the aircraft. They had to use E-2 heat-resistant plexiglass for the canopy, and high-strength stainless steel for the wings and fuselage. Using titanium rather than steel would have been ideal, but it was expensive and difficult to work. The problem of cracks in welded titanium structures with thin walls could not be solved, so the heavier nickel steel was used instead. It cost far less than titanium and allowed for welding, along with heat resistant seals.Gordon 2008 The MiG-25 was constructed from 80% nickel steel alloy, 11% aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, and 9% titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
.Eden 2004, p. 308. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.Goebel, Greg. "MiG-25." vectorsite.net. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
Into production
A non-combat trainer
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses , also known as "Wild Weasel" and "Iron Hand" operations in the United States, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses , primarily in the first hours of an attack.One fourth of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD...
variant, carrying four Raduga
MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga is a Russian aerospace company, concerned with the production of various missile systems and related technologies. It is headquartered in Dubna in the Moscow Oblast...
Kh-58
Kh-58
The Kh-58 is a Russian anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and her allies. It is being superseded by the Kh-31.-Development:...
(NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Western intelligence and the MiG-25
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
, defected
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
Hakodate Airport
, is an airport located east of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It serves as the hub for airtransse.- History :...
in Japan.Barron 1980, p. 15.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
- Belenko's particular aircraft was brand new, representing the very latest Soviet technology.
- The aircraft was assembled very quickly, and was essentially built around its massive Tumansky R-15Tumansky R-15- External links :* *...
(B) turbojets. - WeldingWeldingWelding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
was done by hand. Rivets with non-flush heads were used in areas that would not cause adverse aerodynamic dragDrag (physics)In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
. - The aircraft was built of a nickel alloy and not titaniumTitaniumTitanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
as was assumed (though some titanium was used in heat-critical areas). The steel construction contributed to the craft's 64,000 lb (29,000 kg) unarmed weight. - Maximum acceleration (g-loadG-forceThe g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
) rating was just 2.2 g (21.6 m/s²) with full fuel tanks, with an absolute limit of 4.5 g (44.1 m/s²). One MiG-25 withstood an inadvertent 11.5 g (112.8 m/s²) pull during low-altitude dogfight training, but the resulting deformation damaged the airframe beyond repair. - Combat radius was 186 miles (299.3 km), and maximum range on internal fuel (at subsonic speeds) was only 744 miles (1,197.3 km) at low altitude (< 1000 meter).
- The airspeed indicatorAirspeed indicatorThe airspeed indicator or airspeed gauge is an instrument used in an aircraft to display the craft's airspeed, typically in knots, to the pilot.- Use :...
was redlined at Mach 2.8, with typical intercept speeds near Mach 2.5 in order to extend the service life of the engines. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 in the early 1970s, but the flight led to the destruction of its engines.Barron 1980, pp. 169–171. - The majority of the on-board avionicsAvionicsAvionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
were based on vacuum-tubeVacuum tubeIn electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
technology, not solid-state electronics. Although they represented aging technology, vacuum tubes were more tolerant of temperature extremes, thereby removing the need for providing complex environmental controls inside the avionics bays. In addition, the vacuum tubes were easy to replace in remote northern airfields where sophisticated transistor parts might not have been readily available. With the use of vacuum tubes, the MiG-25P's original Smerch-A (Tornado, NATO reporting name "Foxfire") radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
had enormous power – about 600 kilowattWattThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. As with most Soviet aircraft, the MiG-25 was designed to be as rugged as possible. The use of vacuum tubes also makes the aircraft's systems resistant to an electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulseAn electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, for example after a nuclear blast.
Later versions
As the result of Belenko's defection and the compromise of the MiG-25P's radar and missile systems, beginning in 1976, the Soviets started to develop an advanced version, the MiG-25PD ("Foxbat-E"). This upgrade consisted of new RP-25 Sapfir (Sapphire) look-down/shoot-downLook-down/shoot-down
Look-down/shoot-down is a capability a radar system is said to possess if it is able to detect, track and put a weapon onto an air target moving below the horizon as seen by the radar...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
Infra-red search and track
An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.-Development:...
showed more promise.
Over Israel and Iran
The unarmed 'B' version had greater impact than the interceptor when the USSR sent two MiG-25R, and two MiG-25RB to Egypt in March 1971 and stayed until July 1972. They were operated by the Soviet 63rd Independent Air Detachment (Det 63) set up specially for this mission. Det 63 flew over Israeli held territory in Sinai on reconnaissance missions roughly 20 times. The flights were in pairs at maximum speed and high altitude (between 17,000–23,000 m).On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully."Foxbats over Sinai." spyflight.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
Iran-Iraq War
The MiG-25 was in service with the Iraqi Air ForceIraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
Mohommed Rayyan
Colonel Mohommed Rayyan, nicknamed "Sky Falcon," was a fighter pilot with the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War. He claimed 10 air combat kills, making him an ace and the most successful Iraqi fighter pilot of that war....
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
Persian Gulf War
During the Persian Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
Scott Speicher
Michael Scott Speicher was a United States Navy pilot who was shot down over Iraq during the Gulf War. He was the first American combat casualty of the conflict. His remains were not recovered until Aug. 2, 2009...
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile"Intelligence Community Assessment of the Lieutenant Commander Speicher Case". CIA, FOIA Electronic Reading Room, 27 March 2001. Retrieved: 10 September 2006. probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
Iraqi no-fly zones
The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
AIM-92 Stinger
The AIM-92 Stinger or ATAS is an air-to-air missile developed from the shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger system, for use on helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Eurocopter Tiger and also UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator...
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
India
The MiG-25 was kept a guarded secret in India, and was nicknamed GarudaGaruda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.Bhonsle 2006, p. 256.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s and satellite imagery
Satellite imagery
Satellite imagery consists of photographs of Earth or other planets made by means of artificial satellites.- History :The first images from space were taken on sub-orbital flights. The U.S-launched V-2 flight on October 24, 1946 took one image every 1.5 seconds...
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
Variants
Ye-133: This designation was given to one aircraft, it was used by Svetlana SavitskayaSvetlana Savitskaya
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya She started training as a cosmonaut in 1980. Upon returning to Earth, Savitskaya was assigned as the commander of an all-female Soyuz crew to Salyut 7 in commemoration of the International Women's Day, a mission that was later canceled.She was twice awarded the Hero...
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
Tumansky R-15
- External links :* *...
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Mikoyan-Gurevich
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...
bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.83+ (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
s.
When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing planform suggested an enormous and highly maneuverable fighter. This was during a period of time when U.S. design theories were also evolving towards higher maneuverability due to combat performance in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The appearance of the MiG-25 sparked off serious concern in the west, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in late 1960s. The capabilities of the MiG-25 were better understood in 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
defected in a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. The large wing turned out to be due to the aircraft's very heavy weight.
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It remains the fastest combat aircraft ever produced."Global Aircraft – Top 50 Fastest Aircraft." The Global Aircraft Organization, 24 April 2007. Retrieved: 30 June 2011.
Background
During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defense of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
and strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
s carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high altitude American Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available.
The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2-capable Convair B-58 Hustler, with the even faster North American B-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...
had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: the I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75, Ye-150, Ye-150A, Ye-152, Ye-152A, Ye-152P, and Ye-152M. The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine, two of which would later be used for the MiG-25. This led to Ye-152, alternatively known as Ye-166, which set several world records. The Ye-152M (converted from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft) was intended to be the definite heavy interceptor design. But before it was finished, the PVO had selected the Tupolev Tu-128. As the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, the single-engine Ye-152M was abandoned.
Designing a new interceptor
Work on the new Russian interceptor that would become the MiG-25 started in mid-1959, a year before Soviet intelligence learned of the American Mach 3 A-12 reconnaissance aircraft.Spick 2000 It is not clear if the design was influenced by the American A-5 Vigilante. Requirements could easily have led the design team to use a similar layout. The promise of the new design roused the military's interest in both VVS and PVO. In February 1961 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a joint directive with the Council of Ministers of the USSR, tasking the Mikoyan OKB with the development of an aircraft designated Ye-155, the interceptor and reconnaissance versions of which were designated Ye-155P (Perekhvatchik - radar-directed, all weather interceptor) and Ye-155R (Razvedchik-reconnaissance) respectively. On 10 March 1961, Mikoyan signed a formal order to start design work on the Ye-155.The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. The third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.
The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable-sweep wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of decreased fuel tank capacity. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in horizontal flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.
A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
carrier, and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
, but none of these notions bore any fruit, and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the VVS' Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for PVO was ever realized.
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
, to help with pitch control at high speed (provisions for canards had previously been installed, but not used, on the Ye-152P.)
The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964.
Development of the MiG-25, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, took several more years to complete.
On July 9, 1967, the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo air show.
Record breaker
The Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau soon realized that the performance of the new aircraft gave it great potential to set new flight records. In addition to their normal duties, the prototypes Ye-155-P1, Ye-155-R1, Ye-155-R3 were made lighter by removing some unneeded equipment, and were used for these attempts. Under Federation Aeronautique InternationaleFédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI) classification the Ye-155 type belonged to class C1 (III), which specifies jet-powered land planes with unlimited maximum take-off weight. A few records can be mentioned here:
- The first claim was for world speed records with payloads of 1,000 and 2,000 kilogram. Test pilot Alexander Fedotov reached an average speed of 2,319.12 km/h over a 1,000 km circuit in 16 March 1965.
- For pure speed, with no payload, test pilot Mikhail M. Komarov averaged 2,982.5 km/h over a 500 km closed circuit in 1967, three months after the new aircraft was first shown to the public at Domodedovo. On the same day A. Fedotov reached an altitude of 29977 metres (98,349.7 ft) with a 1,000 kilogram payload. But the MiG could go higher and eventually it became the first aircraft to go higher than 35000 metres (114,829.4 ft).
- Time to height records were recorded on 4 June 1973 when Boris A. Orlov climbed to 20,000 m in 2 min 49.8 sec. The same day, Pyotr M. Ostapenko reached 25,000 in 3 min 12.6 and 30,000 m in 4 min 3.86 sec.
- On 25 July 1973, A. Fedotov reached 35,230m with 1,000 kg payload, and 36,240 m with no load (an absolute world record). In the thin air, the engines flamed out and the aircraft coasted on in a ballistic trajectory by inertia alone. At the apex the speed had dropped to 75 km/h.
- A few years later, on 31 August 1977, "Ye-266M" flown by MiG OKB Chief Test Pilot Alexander V. Fedotov, set the recognized absolute altitude record for a jet aircraft under its own power. He reached 37650 metres (123,523.6 ft) at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in zoom climbZoom climbA zoom climb is a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum for a sustained climb, as determined from the thrust of the aircraft's engines. During a zoom climb, the aircraft accelerates to a high air speed at an altitude at which it can operate in sustained level flight. The pilot...
(the absolute altitude is a different record than the sustained altitude in horizontal flight). The aircraft was actually a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.
In all 29 records were claimed, of which seven were all-time world records for time to height, altitudes of 20,000 m and higher, and speed. Several records still stand.
Technical description
Because of the thermal stresses incurred in flight above Mach 2, the Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB had difficulties choosing what materials to use for the aircraft. They had to use E-2 heat-resistant plexiglass for the canopy, and high-strength stainless steel for the wings and fuselage. Using titanium rather than steel would have been ideal, but it was expensive and difficult to work. The problem of cracks in welded titanium structures with thin walls could not be solved, so the heavier nickel steel was used instead. It cost far less than titanium and allowed for welding, along with heat resistant seals.Gordon 2008 The MiG-25 was constructed from 80% nickel steel alloy, 11% aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, and 9% titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
.Eden 2004, p. 308. The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.
The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). Its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.Goebel, Greg. "MiG-25." vectorsite.net. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
Into production
A non-combat trainer
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses , also known as "Wild Weasel" and "Iron Hand" operations in the United States, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses , primarily in the first hours of an attack.One fourth of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD...
variant, carrying four Raduga
MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga is a Russian aerospace company, concerned with the production of various missile systems and related technologies. It is headquartered in Dubna in the Moscow Oblast...
Kh-58
Kh-58
The Kh-58 is a Russian anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and her allies. It is being superseded by the Kh-31.-Development:...
(NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
s. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.
Western intelligence and the MiG-25
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko is Soviet defector and aerospace engineer and lecturer. Belenko was sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for state treason. He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family...
, defected
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport
Hakodate Airport
, is an airport located east of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It serves as the hub for airtransse.- History :...
in Japan.Barron 1980, p. 15.
The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:
- Belenko's particular aircraft was brand new, representing the very latest Soviet technology.
- The aircraft was assembled very quickly, and was essentially built around its massive Tumansky R-15Tumansky R-15- External links :* *...
(B) turbojets. - WeldingWeldingWelding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
was done by hand. Rivets with non-flush heads were used in areas that would not cause adverse aerodynamic dragDrag (physics)In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
. - The aircraft was built of a nickel alloy and not titaniumTitaniumTitanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
as was assumed (though some titanium was used in heat-critical areas). The steel construction contributed to the craft's 64,000 lb (29,000 kg) unarmed weight. - Maximum acceleration (g-loadG-forceThe g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
) rating was just 2.2 g (21.6 m/s²) with full fuel tanks, with an absolute limit of 4.5 g (44.1 m/s²). One MiG-25 withstood an inadvertent 11.5 g (112.8 m/s²) pull during low-altitude dogfight training, but the resulting deformation damaged the airframe beyond repair. - Combat radius was 186 miles (299.3 km), and maximum range on internal fuel (at subsonic speeds) was only 744 miles (1,197.3 km) at low altitude (< 1000 meter).
- The airspeed indicatorAirspeed indicatorThe airspeed indicator or airspeed gauge is an instrument used in an aircraft to display the craft's airspeed, typically in knots, to the pilot.- Use :...
was redlined at Mach 2.8, with typical intercept speeds near Mach 2.5 in order to extend the service life of the engines. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 in the early 1970s, but the flight led to the destruction of its engines.Barron 1980, pp. 169–171. - The majority of the on-board avionicsAvionicsAvionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
were based on vacuum-tubeVacuum tubeIn electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
technology, not solid-state electronics. Although they represented aging technology, vacuum tubes were more tolerant of temperature extremes, thereby removing the need for providing complex environmental controls inside the avionics bays. In addition, the vacuum tubes were easy to replace in remote northern airfields where sophisticated transistor parts might not have been readily available. With the use of vacuum tubes, the MiG-25P's original Smerch-A (Tornado, NATO reporting name "Foxfire") radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
had enormous power – about 600 kilowattWattThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. As with most Soviet aircraft, the MiG-25 was designed to be as rugged as possible. The use of vacuum tubes also makes the aircraft's systems resistant to an electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulseAn electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, for example after a nuclear blast.
Later versions
As the result of Belenko's defection and the compromise of the MiG-25P's radar and missile systems, beginning in 1976, the Soviets started to develop an advanced version, the MiG-25PD ("Foxbat-E"). This upgrade consisted of new RP-25 Sapfir (Sapphire) look-down/shoot-downLook-down/shoot-down
Look-down/shoot-down is a capability a radar system is said to possess if it is able to detect, track and put a weapon onto an air target moving below the horizon as seen by the radar...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(the same radar as used in the MiG-23 fighter), infrared search and track (IRST) system
Infra-red search and track
An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...
, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.
Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, as the coming MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.-Development:...
showed more promise.
Over Israel and Iran
The unarmed 'B' version had greater impact than the interceptor when the USSR sent two MiG-25R, and two MiG-25RB to Egypt in March 1971 and stayed until July 1972. They were operated by the Soviet 63rd Independent Air Detachment (Det 63) set up specially for this mission. Det 63 flew over Israeli held territory in Sinai on reconnaissance missions roughly 20 times. The flights were in pairs at maximum speed and high altitude (between 17,000–23,000 m).On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully."Foxbats over Sinai." spyflight.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 overspeeded its engines, which led to their later destruction. Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19–20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
. Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.
On 13 February 1981, Israeli Air Force sent two RF-4Es over Lebanon as a decoy for Syrian MiG-25 interceptors. As the MiGs scrambled, the RF-4Es turned back delivering chaffs and using ECM pods. Two IDF/AF F-15A were waiting for the MiGs and shot one of them down with AIM-7F missiles. The other MiG was able to escape. The trap was repeated on 29 July 1981 and 7 June 1982, when another two Syrian MiG-25s were downed by IDF/AF F-15As, one on each date. Finally, on 31 August 1983, a fourth Syrian MiG-25 was damaged by a Israeli Hawk SAM and then dispatched by an IDF/AF F-15. No Israeli aircraft were lost to the MiG-25.
During the 1970s, the Soviet air force conducted reconnaissance overflights across Iran using its MiG-25RBSh aircraft in response to joint US-Iran recon operations.
Iran-Iraq War
The MiG-25 was in service with the Iraqi Air ForceIraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period from 1978 to 1988, although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. Iraqi MiG-25s made their first kill against Iran in February 1983, where an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian C-130. On 21 March 1984, an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian F-4E and on 5 June 1985 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down a second Iranian F-4E. On 23 February 1986 an Iraqi MiG-25PD shot down an Iranian EC-130E and on 10 June an RF-4E, later in October 1986, an Iraqi MiG-25PDS shot down a second RF-4E. The most successful Iraqi MiG-25 pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan
Mohommed Rayyan
Colonel Mohommed Rayyan, nicknamed "Sky Falcon," was a fighter pilot with the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War. He claimed 10 air combat kills, making him an ace and the most successful Iraqi fighter pilot of that war....
, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P from 1981 to 1986.
Persian Gulf War
During the Persian Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, a US Navy F/A-18, piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher
Scott Speicher
Michael Scott Speicher was a United States Navy pilot who was shot down over Iraq during the Gulf War. He was the first American combat casualty of the conflict. His remains were not recovered until Aug. 2, 2009...
, was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile"Intelligence Community Assessment of the Lieutenant Commander Speicher Case". CIA, FOIA Electronic Reading Room, 27 March 2001. Retrieved: 10 September 2006. probably fired by a MiG-25. The kill was reportedly made with a Bisnovat R-40TD
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.
In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support.
In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them. According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
.
Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War, both using AIM-7s. After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone
Iraqi no-fly zones
The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
in southern Iraq with an AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air to air victory and the first AMRAAM kill.
On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
AIM-92 Stinger
The AIM-92 Stinger or ATAS is an air-to-air missile developed from the shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger system, for use on helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Eurocopter Tiger and also UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator...
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.
No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand.
India
The MiG-25 was kept a guarded secret in India, and was nicknamed GarudaGaruda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
, after the large mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It was used extensively in the Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
and Operation Parakram, conducting aerial reconnaissance sorties of Pakistan.Bhonsle 2006, p. 256.
In May 1997, an Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
Mikoyan MiG-25RB reconnaissance aircraft created a furor when the pilot flew faster than Mach 2 over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. The MiG-25 broke the sound barrier while flying at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, otherwise the mission would have remained covert, at least to the general public. The Pakistan Government considered the breaking of the sound barrier was deliberate to make the point that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had no aircraft in its inventory which can come close to the MiG-25's cruising height (up to 74,000 feet). India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.
Lack of spare parts and India's acquiring of unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s and satellite imagery
Satellite imagery
Satellite imagery consists of photographs of Earth or other planets made by means of artificial satellites.- History :The first images from space were taken on sub-orbital flights. The U.S-launched V-2 flight on October 24, 1946 took one image every 1.5 seconds...
eventually led to its retirement in 2006.
Variants
Ye-133: This designation was given to one aircraft, it was used by Svetlana SavitskayaSvetlana Savitskaya
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya She started training as a cosmonaut in 1980. Upon returning to Earth, Savitskaya was assigned as the commander of an all-female Soyuz crew to Salyut 7 in commemoration of the International Women's Day, a mission that was later canceled.She was twice awarded the Hero...
to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1: Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1: Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266: High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M: High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15
Tumansky R-15
- External links :* *...
B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40
Bisnovat R-40
The Bisnovat R-40 was a long-range air-to-air missile developed in the 1960s by the Soviet Union specifically for the MiG-25 interceptor, but can also be carried by the later MiG-31...
air-to-air missiles
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C": Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D": Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh: MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK: Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT: Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV: Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU: Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F": Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.Gunston and Spick 1983, pp. 132–133.
MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E": Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, fitted with a RP-25 look-down/shoot down radar, and an undernose IR search and track system, powered by two Tumansky R-15BD-300 turbojet engines, armed with two R-40 and four R-60
Molniya R-60
The Molniya R-60 is a lightweight air-to-air missile designed for use by Soviet fighter aircraft. It has been widely exported, and remains in service with the CIS and many other nations....
air-to-air missiles.
MiG-25PDS: This designation was applied to all surviving MiG-25P "Foxbat A"s. The aircraft were subsequently upgraded in the early 1980s.
Operators
Current operators
- Algerian Air ForceAlgerian Air ForceThe Algerian Air Force is the aerial arm of the Algerian People's Military.- Inventory :- External links : http://www.algaf.bravehost.com/index.htm http://www.avions-militaires.net/dossiers/armee-air/dza.php...
– 48 MiG-25s purchased from Ukrainian stocks. These included MiG-25PDS, RBV, PU, and RU types. 11 were in service in January 2010, including five MiG-25Ps, three MiG-25PDs, and three MiG-25RBSHs."World Military Aircraft Inventory". 2010 Aerospace, Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 2010.
- Armenian Air ForceArmenian Air ForceThe Armenian Air Force is a small air arm formed by independent Armenia in 1992 in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is organized and equipped principally to provide Armenian ground forces with tactical air support in the form of ground attack and airlift in mountainous terrain...
– one in inventory as of November 2008."Directory: World Air Forces." Flight InternationalFlight InternationalFlight International is a global aerospace weekly publication produced in the UK. Founded in 1909, it is the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine...
, 11–17 November 2008. One MiG-25PD based at Gyumri.
- Azerbaijan Air ForceAzerbaijan Air ForceThe Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force often referred to as the Azerbaijani Air Force is the air force and air defence force of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces....
– received eight MiG-25PDs, 14 MiG-25RBs and six MiG-25 trainers. Five of these aircraft were in use in November 2008.
- Military of KazakhstanMilitary of KazakhstanThe Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan , is the name of the unified armed forces of Kazakhstan...
– 16 in inventory as of November 2008.
- Russian Air ForceRussian Air ForceThe Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
– 42 MiG-25RBs are in service as of January 2010.
- Syrian Air ForceSyrian Air ForceThe Syrian Air Force is the Aviation branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948.-History:The end of World War II led to a withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria...
– received 16 MiG-25PDs, eight MiG-25RBs and two trainers; 40 were in use as of November 2008, including MiG-25Rs and a MiG-25U.
- Military of TurkmenistanMilitary of TurkmenistanThe armed forces of Turkmenistan consist of an Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, and Internal Troops, and a National Guard. After the fall of the Soviet Union, significant elements of the Soviet Armed Forces Turkestan Military District remained on Turkmen soil...
– 24 (MiG-25PD/MiG-25PUs) in inventory as of November 2008.
Former operators
- Bulgarian Air ForceBulgarian Air ForceThe Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
– Three MiG-25RBTs (#731, #736 and #754) and one MiG-25RU (#51) aircraft were delivered in 1982. On 12 April 1984, #736 crashed near BalchikBalchikBalchik is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is located in Dobrich Oblast and is 42 km northeast of Varna...
. The pilot ejected successfully. They were operated by 26th RAB at Dobrich until their withdrawal. In May 1991, the surviving MiG-25s were returned to the USSR in exchange for five MiG-23MLDs.
- Belarus Air Force – Had up to 50 MiG-25s, including 13 MiG-25PDs; by 1995 the type had been withdrawn.
- Indian Air ForceIndian Air ForceThe Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
– Took delivery of six MiG-25RBKs and two MiG-25RUs in 1981. They were operated by No. 102 Squadron "Trisonics" based at Bakshi-ka-talab AB in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. One RBK crashed on 3 August 1994. Retired from service in May 2006."India retires Cold War spy MiGs." BBC News. 9 April 2006. Retrieved: 30 June 2011. The Trishul air-base in BareillyBareillyBareilly is a prominent city in Bareilly district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Standing on the Ramganga river, it is the capital of the Bareilly division and the geographical region Rohilkhand...
had Foxbats capable of flying up to 80,000 ft.
- Iraqi Air ForceIraqi Air ForceThe Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
– Had seven MiG-25PUs, nine MiG-25Rs, and 19 MiG-25PD/PDSs as of January 1991. During Operation Desert Storm most of them were destroyed on the ground, Two were shot down during and seven were flown over to Iran.
- Georgian Air ForceGeorgian Air ForceThe Georgian Air Force is the air arm of the Georgian Armed Forces. Currently, it has 2,971 military and civilian personnel, fixed wing aircraft , helicopters of different types and air defense missiles of the "surface-to-air" class. The Air Force was founded in 1991 in the wake of the break-up...
Libya
- Libyan Air ForceLibyan Air ForceThe Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the 2011 Libyan civil war, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in...
– Operated a large number of MiG-25s, some sources say more than 60 were delivered. Types were of the MiG-25PD, MiG-25RBK, MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU variants. They were operated by No.1025 Squadron at Jufra-Hun, No.1055 Squadron at GhardabiyaGhardabiyaGhardabiya is a dual-function airbase for the Libyan Air Force south of the city of Sirte. It also incorporates an airport for civilian use.-Military Use:...
and an unidentified squadron at Sabha Air BaseSabha Air Base-Overview:Sabha Air Base is a Libyan Air Force base southeast of Sabha, Libya. The base is home to the 1st and 1025th Squadrons of MiG-25 fighter aircraft.It also supports the Tu-22 bomber, but it is unclear if any of these aircraft are operational....
. Current status of the force is unknown.
– The largest operator historically, Soviet aircraft were passed on to its successor states in 1991.
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
- Soviet Anti-Air Defence
- Ukrainian Air ForceUkrainian Air ForceThe Ukrainian Air Force is a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force Command and headquarters are located in the city of Vinnytsia....
– Took over 79 aircraft after the breakup of the USSR. They have been withdrawn from service. It is reported some have been sold to countries in the third-world.
Survivors
- MiG-25RB (s/n 25105) is in the restoration facility at the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
in Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. This aircraft was found in 2003 during the opening months of Operation Iraqi Freedom by American forces, buried in the sand near Al Taqaddum Airbase, about 250 km west of BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. The aircraft had been buried to prevent its destruction on the ground by coalition aircraft. When uncovered, the MiG-25RB was incomplete, as the wings could not be located. This aircraft was one of two MiG-25s transported by a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy from Iraq to Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
for examination. It was donated to the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
in December 2006. The museum's restoration staff is currently attempting to locate a set of wings to complete the aircraft for display."MiG-25 fact sheet." nationalmuseum.af.mil. Retrieved: 27 October 2010. - MIG - 25 is in display at the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam, New Delhi.
Specifications (MiG-25P 'Foxbat-A')
See also
External links
- MiG-25 page on GlobalSecurity.org
- MiG-25/31 at Greg Goebel's Air Vectors site
- MiG-25 page on Milavia.net
- MiG-25 vs. SR-71 Blackbird discussion
- MiG-25 Foxbat at Russian Military Analysis
- Foxbat and Foxhound - Australian Aviation
- Recce Incursion - Famous incident of IAF MiG-25 intruding into Pakistan airspace
- Photo Russian MiG-25 in flight - 2007
- Photo Russian MiG-25 in flight - 2011