Viktor Belenko Viktor Belenko, the former Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot who defected to the West in 1976 in a… Read More
No Iraqi Air Force opposition during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Mar. 20, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began with preemptive… Read More
The cover artwork of the novel Firefox by Craig Thomas depicted a MiG-25, and the plane was described similarly to… Read More
For Senior Lieutenant Viktor Belenko’s defecting MiG-25 Foxbat reaching Japan proved to be the easy part, as touching down on… Read More
Although MiG-25 Foxbats are not particularly manoeuvrable aircraft, their aggressive manoeuvring during approach, ‘painting’ of US Navy aircraft with their… Read More
‘We had practised in the sim against the “Foxbat” and knew if he decided to run at the AWACS or… Read More
The Soviets did not have the technology to make blades that could tolerate as high temperatures as the J58 turbine.… Read More
“I saw three separate detonations, the nose and left wing broke instantly, and the tail section continued into the main… Read More
Soviet Lt. Viktor Belenko became an instant celebrity when he successfully defected to the West by flying his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25… Read More
A MiG-25 'Foxbat' which flew into the no-fly zone at Mach 2.5 and headed directly for a high-value asset, created… Read More
This ‘What if’ design pulls cues from the Desert Camouflage Uniform worn during the first Gulf War, and a similar… Read More
The US Navy F-14 Tomcats won the air battle for H-2 without firing a single shot. The F-14 Tomcats of… Read More
The F-15 Streak Eagle purpose was to establish new time-to-climb records, improving those held by the F-4 and MiG-25 Developed… Read More
"Someone was going to die within the next two minutes, and it wasn't going to be me or my wingman,"… Read More
The MiG-25 (NATO reporting name “Foxbat”) could outrun any fighter in the air, and indeed any military aircraft other than… Read More
The design of the MiG-25 was directed entirely at achieving high speed and high altitude. Conceived to intercept the North… Read More
MiG-23 pilot Hazem al-Bajigni subsequently found himself accused of intending to steal a C-130 transport and fly the plotters out… Read More