On September 9, 1964, an experimental fighter-interceptor E-155P-1 took off into the sky, which after the completion of the state test program received the MiG-25 index. The supersonic high-altitude twin-engine fighter-interceptor MiG-25, nicknamed Foxbat (flying fox) in the West, belonged to the third generation aircraft. In many ways, this is a unique aircraft, which is confirmed by the large number of world records set on it, some of which have never been surpassed.
The new fighter-interceptor underwent state tests from December 1965 to April 1970, after which the car was officially adopted by the fighter aircraft of the USSR Air Defense Forces in May 1972. The relatively long test period was due to the fundamentally new design of the vehicle, the uniqueness of its characteristics, and the set of equipment and weapons installed on board. Serial production of the new fighter was set up at the Gorky Aviation Plant (today the Sokol Nizhny Novgorod Aviation Plant). In total, 1186 MiG-25 aircraft of various modifications were assembled in Gorky from 1966 to 1985, some of them were exported to friendly countries: Algeria, Bulgaria, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria.
MiG-25: capabilities and records
The development of a new fighter-interceptor in the USSR began in the early 1960s. At this point, the main efforts of OKB-155 were focused on two projects: work on new modifications of the MiG-21 fighter and the creation of a fundamentally new fighter that would develop in flight speeds up to 3000 km / h at an altitude of 20,000 meters, the new project was officially named E-155. The start of the program for the development of a supersonic fighter-interceptor, which was planned to be produced in the reconnaissance (E-155R) and interceptor (E-155P) versions, was given on February 5, 1962 by a corresponding decree of the USSR Council of Ministers.
The high performance characteristics of the future aircraft, which made the Soviet "Flying Fox" a truly unique record-holder aircraft, setting 38 world records, were dictated by necessity. The aircraft was originally created as a response to the emergence of new American combat aircraft. Its main task was to fight the new B-58 supersonic bombers and modifications of this aircraft, as well as the promising XB-70 Valkyrie bomber and the SR-71 Blackbird strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. American novelties in the future were supposed to develop a speed in flight that exceeded the speed of sound three times. That is why the new Soviet aircraft, to the development of which the Mikoyan Design Bureau was involved, had to develop a speed of Mach 3 and confidently hit air targets in the altitude range from 0 to 25 thousand meters.
The fact that the new interceptor would become a unique aircraft was already clear from its prototype E-155, which outwardly did not resemble any of the fighters already created in those years. The new combat aircraft received a two-fin tail, a thin trapezoidal wing of low aspect ratio and flat side air intakes with a horizontal wedge. Taking into account the high requirements for the high-altitude and speed characteristics of the fighter and the large take-off weight (maximum take-off weight of 41,000 kg), the car was originally designed as a twin-engine. Two TRDF R-15B-300 were installed next to each other in the tail section of the fighter.
The MiG-25 became the first serial fighter-interceptor in the USSR, which could reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.83 (3000 km / h). The plane seemed to have been created for records, the fighter was originally distinguished by excellent speed and altitude characteristics. Many world records were set during the testing and development of the future combat aircraft. In total, Soviet test pilots set 38 world aviation records for speed, altitude and climb rate on the fighter, including three absolute records. In the documents of the International Aviation Federation, the Soviet fighter was designated E-266 (E-155) and E-266M (E-155M).
Despite the start of serial production of the MiG-25, some of the prototypes continued to be used, including for setting new world records. For example, on May 17, 1975, a number of climb records were set on the fighter. Under the control of pilot Alexander Fedotov, the fighter conquered the altitude of 25,000 meters in 2 minutes 34 seconds, and the time to climb to an altitude of 35,000 meters was 4 minutes 11, 7 seconds. Among the most famous and still unbeaten achievements is the record for flight altitude for aircraft with jet engines. The absolute world record was set on August 31, 1977, the plane was flown that day by test pilot Alexander Vasilyevich Fedotov. Under his control, the MiG-25 fighter-interceptor climbed to an altitude of 37,650 meters. Confirmation of the outstanding capabilities of the new fighter-interceptor was the fact that three pilots were nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for carrying out the program of state tests of the aircraft, among them Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Stepan Anastasovich Mikoyan and leading pilots on the topic Alexander Savvich Bezhevets and Vadim Ivanovich Petrov …
The first combat experience of using the MiG-25
The debut of the new Soviet combat aircraft fell on the years of the War of Attrition, a low-intensity military conflict between Egypt and Israel that smoldered like an unextinguished fire in the 1967-1970s. In Egypt, the MiG-25R and MiG-25RB aircraft were tested. The latter was unique for its time as a reconnaissance bomber. The MiG-25RB, in addition to photographic and radio reconnaissance of the terrain, could inflict bomb strikes on enemy ground targets, the payload was five tons of bombs. According to the official website of RSK MiG, the concept of a reconnaissance and strike complex, which was first implemented in the USSR on the MiG-25RB and its further modifications, was many years ahead of its time, becoming generally accepted in world military aviation only at the end of the 20th century.
Tests of the newest Soviet aircraft in Egypt lasted from October 10, 1971 to March 1972, after which the aircraft returned to the USSR. All this time, Soviet MiG-25s carried out reconnaissance flights over the territory of the Sinai Peninsula, which at that time was occupied by Israeli troops. According to the Israeli side, the flights of unidentified aircraft continued over the Sinai Peninsula in April-May 1972. For a long time, the Israeli military could not determine the model of the aircraft that appeared in Egypt, giving it various names from "MiG-21 Alpha" to "X-500". The Israeli Air Force sent its own Mirage III and F-4 fighters to intercept the MiG-25, but these attempts ended in nothing, none of the missiles fired hit the Soviet fighters. The use by the Israeli military of the American HAWK air defense systems also did not affect the situation, the complex turned out to be useless against the MiG-25.
According to the pilots who participated in the tests of the aircraft in Egypt, the flights were carried out at full engine operation. Maximum speed and altitude from 17 to 23 thousand meters were the only defense of unarmed reconnaissance MiG-25R. Already 3-4 minutes after takeoff, the plane accelerated to a speed of Mach 2.5, not a single plane could keep up with the Soviet flying foxes. At the same time, every minute the MiG-25 engines consumed half a ton of fuel, as a result, the weight of the aircraft decreased, it became lighter and could accelerate to a speed of Mach 2, 8. At such a flight speed, the air temperature at the inlet to the engines rose to 320 degrees Celsius, and the airframe skin was heated to a temperature of 303 degrees. According to the pilots, in such a situation, even the cockpit canopy was heated to such an extent that it was impossible to touch it with a hand. Justifying the impossibility of hitting unknown Soviet aircraft, representatives of the Israeli air defense told that the "air object" detected by the radar reached a speed of Mach 3, 2 in flight. These reports of the Israelis gave rise to a large number of rumors. Despite the published information of the tape installed on the KZA - Control and recording equipment, they said that the Soviet pilots did not make significant deviations from the approved flight and test program.
Also, the MiG-25 was actively used by the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). The fighters were used by the Iraqis for aerial reconnaissance, intercepting enemy aerial targets, and as fighter-bombers. The first MiG-25s of the Iraqi Air Force managed to receive before the start of the conflict back in 1979, but by the beginning of hostilities there were not enough pilots trained on the MiG-25, so the intensive use of new machines began already closer to the middle of the war. Despite this, it was the MiG-25 that became the most productive Iraqi aircraft in terms of the ratio of victories and losses. During the Iran-Iraq war, Iraqi pilots won 19 victories on the Soviet "flying fox", having lost only two fighter-interceptors and two reconnaissance bombers for combat reasons, of which only two aircraft were lost in air battles with the enemy. The most productive Iraqi ace pilot of this war was Mohamed Rayyan, who won 10 air victories, of which 8 were obtained precisely on the MiG-25 interceptor fighter in the period from 1981 to 1986.
By the beginning of Operation Desert Storm, the Iraqi Air Force still had 35 MiG-25 fighters of various types, some of which were used by Iraq in combat. In the initial phase of the Gulf War of 1990-1991, the Iraqi MiG-25RB performed several reconnaissance flights over Kuwait, while the air defense of the Arab country could not oppose anything to airspace violators. It was also the MiG-25 fighter-interceptor that chalked up the only Iraqi aerial victory in this war. On the first night of the start of the operation on January 17, 1991, Lieutenant Zuhair Dawood shot down an American carrier-based fighter-bomber F / A-18 Hornet.
Hijacking to Japan and the further fate of the MiG-25
The fate of the unique Soviet aircraft was strongly influenced by only one senior lieutenant, Viktor Ivanovich Belenko. On September 6, 1976, he hijacked a MiG-25 fighter and landed at a Japanese airfield near the city of Hakodate. The pilot escaped from the Soviet Union during a training flight, breaking away from his partner. After that, Belenko dropped to a height of about 30 meters, which allowed him to quickly get out of the detection zone of Soviet radars and not get on the radars of the Japanese military, who found the plane only over Japan when the pilot climbed to an altitude of about 6 thousand meters. Japanese fighters were raised to intercept the unknown aircraft, but Viktor Belenko again dropped to 30 meters and again disappeared from Japanese radars.
Initially, the pilot planned to land at the Chitose air base, but due to lack of fuel he was forced to land at the nearest airfield, which was the Hakodate airport near the city of the same name. After making a circle and assessing the situation, the pilot landed the plane, but the runway length was not enough for a supersonic jet fighter and the MiG-25 rolled out of the runway, approaching the border of the airport territory. On the way, the fighter shot down two antennas and stopped in front of the aircraft catcher, having driven about 200 meters across the field. The locals watched everything that happened in amazement, some even managed to photograph the plane after landing. Until that moment, Soviet pilots had not hijacked combat aircraft abroad.
The plane instantly became an object of interest for the American military, who took the interceptor fighter to their airbase aboard a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy military transport aircraft. The new Soviet fighter has undergone a thorough and comprehensive study. The studies carried out on the new Soviet aircraft showed how much the West was mistaken about this aircraft. Before that, the foreign military considered the MiG-25 a multipurpose fighter, but the high-speed supersonic fighter turned out to be a highly specialized high-altitude interceptor and for this task its design features and technical characteristics were at their best.
It is significant that almost all foreign observers agreed that the MiG-25 is the most advanced interceptor fighter in the world. Although its radar was built on electronic vacuum tubes, and also did not receive a target selection mode against the background of the earth's surface, it was superior to its western counterparts. Western experts attributed the primitive electronic and element base of the aircraft to the obvious disadvantages of the aircraft, even in comparison with the F-4 fighter, they noted that this comparison was in the spirit of a "gramophone with a transistor receiver." Another thing is that the gramophone was quite a working one. As noted by foreign experts, despite the weakness of the element base, the overall integration of the autopilot, weapon control systems and aircraft guidance systems from the ground were made at a level that corresponded to Western systems of those years. Since there was still fuel in the aircraft's tanks, the Americans conducted static tests of the engines on the base, which showed that Soviet engines were not economical; for countries with a market economy, this was an important criterion that the Soviet Union did not care about for many years.
Especially valuable data that the Americans and their allies obtained was the complete thermal signature of the MiG-25, the information obtained was useful in the creation of homing heads for surface-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. The Soviet Foreign Ministry succeeded in getting the aircraft back to the USSR, but by that time on November 15, 1976, the Americans had finished inspecting the new aircraft, having received all the necessary information. Moreover, the Japanese did not return part of the electronic equipment installed on board, in particular, the "friend or foe" identification system.
The fact that all the technical features and capabilities of the new Soviet fighter-interceptor MiG-25 turned out to be open to potential enemies of the Soviet Union influenced the fate of the aircraft. On November 4, 1976, a government decree appeared on the creation of a new version of the interceptor fighter, the technical solution was ready in 3-4 weeks, and two years later, the tests of the new machine were completed, and the fighter was handed over to the industry for serial production. For two years, Soviet aircraft designers and engineers managed to replace all the interceptor stuffing. The production of new fighter-interceptors MiG-25PD and MiG-25PDS started in Gorky already in 1978.
