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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is an aircraft built primarily using stainless steel. It was to be the last aircraft designed by Mikhail Gurevich, before his retirement.
The first prototype flew in 1964 and the aircraft entered service in 1970. Although it was capable of reaching Mach 3.2+, this would result in the engines accelerating out of control and needing replacement, therefore the operational top speed was limited to Mach 2.83. The MiG-25 features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles, and it still has the world record for reached altitude by airbreathing piloted aircraft of 38 km (125,000 ft).
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,186 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in several export customers. It is one of the highest-flying military aircraft, one of the fastest serially produced interceptor aircraft, and the second-fastest serially produced aircraft after the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, which was built in very small numbers compared to the MiG-25. As of 2018[update], the MiG-25 remained the fastest manned serially produced aircraft in operational use and the fastest plane that was offered for supersonic flights and edge-of-space flights to civilian customers.
During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air Force, VVS) was given the task of strategic air defence of the USSR. This meant not only dealing with accidental border violations but more importantly defending the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bombers carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. In the late 1950s, the very high altitude overflights of Soviet territory by the Lockheed U-2 revealed the need for a higher altitude interceptor aircraft than available at that time.
In addition, the subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2 Convair B-58 Hustler, with the Mach 3 North American B-70 Valkyrie being developed at that time. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required in order to meet the higher and faster American strategic bombers. At the start of 1958, a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of reaching 3,000 km/h (1,600 kn) and heights of up to 27 km (89,000 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.
Work on the new Soviet interceptor that became 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 XF-108 Rapier and the A-5 Vigilante.
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. Options two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant that either of them would result in a very tall aircraft, which would complicate maintenance.
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is an aircraft built primarily using stainless steel. It was to be the last aircraft designed by Mikhail Gurevich, before his retirement.
The first prototype flew in 1964 and the aircraft entered service in 1970. Although it was capable of reaching Mach 3.2+, this would result in the engines accelerating out of control and needing replacement, therefore the operational top speed was limited to Mach 2.83. The MiG-25 features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles, and it still has the world record for reached altitude by airbreathing piloted aircraft of 38 km (125,000 ft).
Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,186 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in several export customers. It is one of the highest-flying military aircraft, one of the fastest serially produced interceptor aircraft, and the second-fastest serially produced aircraft after the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, which was built in very small numbers compared to the MiG-25. As of 2018[update], the MiG-25 remained the fastest manned serially produced aircraft in operational use and the fastest plane that was offered for supersonic flights and edge-of-space flights to civilian customers.
During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air Force, VVS) was given the task of strategic air defence of the USSR. This meant not only dealing with accidental border violations but more importantly defending the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bombers carrying free-fall nuclear bombs. The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. In the late 1950s, the very high altitude overflights of Soviet territory by the Lockheed U-2 revealed the need for a higher altitude interceptor aircraft than available at that time.
In addition, the subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2 Convair B-58 Hustler, with the Mach 3 North American B-70 Valkyrie being developed at that time. A major upgrade in the PVO defence system was required in order to meet the higher and faster American strategic bombers. At the start of 1958, a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of reaching 3,000 km/h (1,600 kn) and heights of up to 27 km (89,000 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.
Work on the new Soviet interceptor that became 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 XF-108 Rapier and the A-5 Vigilante.
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. Options two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant that either of them would result in a very tall aircraft, which would complicate maintenance.