| DESCRIPTION:  When the US Air Force began developing the B-70 bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union whiletraveling at Mach 3 at altitudes over 70,000 ft, the Soviets started planning a new super-fast, high-altitude interceptor. Though the B-70 project was eventually abandoned, the MiG-25 program continued, eventually producing the fastest fighter in the world.
The MiG-25 is designed only for high-altitude fight and has correspondingly terrible low-level performance and dogfighting characteristics. Although reconnaissance and defense suppression variants of the MiG-25 were developed, the aircraft's range of applications has always been limited.
As a result, Mikoyan Gurevich later designed an improved MiG-25, the MiG-31, with improved low-level performance for use in more common attack fighter roles. An interesting note is that the first air-to-air kill of the Gulf War is believed to be a US F/A-18C Hornet shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 on 17 January 1991. Data below for MiG-25PD
|
| HISTORY: |
| First Flight | (Ye-155R-1) 6 March 1964
(Ye-155P-1) 9September 1964 |
Service Entry
| 1966 (?)
|
| CREW: | 1 pilot
|
ESTIMATED COST:
| unknown
|
| AIRFOIL SECTIONS: |
| Wing Root | TsAGI SR-12S |
| Wing Tip | TsAGI SR-12S
|
| DIMENSIONS: |
| Length | 78.15 ft (23.82 m) |
| Wingspan | 45.98 ft (14.02 m) |
| Height | 20.02 ft (6.10 m) |
| Wing Area | 662 ft2 (61.52 m2) |
| WEIGHTS: |
| Empty | 44,090 lb (20,000 kg) |
| Typical Load | unknown |
| Max Takeoff | 80,950 lb (36,720 kg) |
| Fuel Capacity | internal: 32,895 lb (14,920kg)
external: unknown |
Max Payload
| 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)
|
| PROPULSION: |
| Powerplant | two Soyuz/ Tumanskii R-15BD-300afterburning turbojets |
| Thrust | 49,400 lb (220.0 kN) with afterburner
|
| PERFORMANCE: |
| Max Level Speed | at altitude: 2,110 mph (3,390 km/h) at 42,650 ft (13,000 m), Mach 3.2 [clean]
1,865 mph (3,000 km/h) at 42,650 ft (13,000 m), Mach 2.83 [loaded]
at sea level: 650 mph (1,050 km/h), Mach 0.85 |
| Initial Climb Rate | 40,950 ft (12,480 m) / min |
| ServiceCeiling | 67,900 ft (20,700 m)
absolutealtitude: 123,524 ft (37,650 m) [world record] |
| Range | typical: 935 nm (1,730km)
ferry: 1,390 nm (2,575 km) |
| g-Limits | +4.5
|
| ARMAMENT: |
| Gun | none |
| Stations | four external hardpoints |
| Air-to-AirMissile | up to two R-23/AA-7 Apex, up to fourR-60/AA-8 Aphid, up to two R-40/AA-6 Acrid, or up to four R-73/AA-11Archer |
| Air-to-SurfaceMissile | Kh-58 Kistler (MiG-25BM only) |
| Bomb | unknown (MiG-25RB only) |
| Other | reconnaissance cameras (MiG-25R only)
|
| KNOWN VARIANTS: |
| Ye-155R-1 | Prototype of reconnaissance model |
| Ye-155P-1 | Prototype of interceptor model |
| MiG-25P Foxbat-A | First production interceptor model armed with up to four air-to-air missiles |
| MiG-25R Foxbat-B | First production reconnaissance model carrying cameras, sensors, and ECM equipment |
| MiG-25RBV Foxbat-B | unknown |
| MiG-25RBT Foxbat-B | unknown |
| MiG-25U Foxbat-C | Two-seat trainer with instructor seated in separate raised cockpit |
| MiG-25PU Foxbat-C | Two-seat trainer |
| MiG-25RU Foxbat-C | Two-seat trainer |
| MiG-25RB Foxbat-D | Reconnaissance model with secondary bombing capability, in service by 1970 |
| MiG-25RBK Foxbat-D | Improved recon-bomber with different cameras and new electronic information equipment |
| MiG-25RBS Foxbat-D | unknown |
| MiG-25RBSh Foxbat-D | Recon-bomber carrying anti-surface missiles |
| MiG-25RF Foxbat-D | unknown |
| MiG-25PD Foxbat-E | Improved interceptor with upgraded engines and radar, 200 'A' models rebuilt to 'E' standard |
| MiG-25PDS Foxbat-E | unknown |
| MiG-25BM Foxbat-F | Defense supression model based on 25RB, lengthened nose, ECM equipment in place of recon module, armed with Kh-58 anti-radiation missiles for use against SAM sites
|
KNOWN COMBATRECORD:
| Lebanon (Syria, 1982)
Gulf War (Iraq, 1991)
Iraq - Operation Southern Watch (Iraq, 1991-present)
Iraq - Operation Desert Fox (Iraq, 1998)
|
KNOWN OPERATORS:
| Russian AirForce
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bulgaria
India
Iraq
Libya
Syria
Ukraine
|
3-VIEW SCHEMATIC: |
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