Model Airplane International - June 2018

48 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - June 2018

IN DETAIL...

DEFENDING THE

MOTHERLAND AT

MACH THREE

WRITTEN BY GLENN SANDS

T

he brutal looking Mikoyan MiG-

25 set a totally new level in

combat aircraft performance. The

early prototypes blazed a trail of

aeronautical records during 1965-

67 including closed-circuit speeds, payload-

to-height and rate-of-climb. NATO christened

the new Russian aircraft Foxbat, and while

in public the US military remained vague

when asked about the new Russian fi ghter,

behind closed doors the Pentagon’s analysts

were sent into pandemonium. Western policy

makers recognised that here was a combat

aircraft that outclassed everything else and

urgent studies were undertaken in order to

counter the new threat.

But, what is not understood is that the

Foxbat was ‘actually’ created in response to

a threat from the US. The development of

supersonic bombers in particular the Convair

B-58 Hustler which entered operational

service in March 1960, Russia needed an

aircraft to counter such a menace. In addition,

intelligence reports were reaching Moscow of

a new high-altitude reconnaissance platform

which later emerged as Lockheed’s A-12.

With the need to provide air defence of its

missile bases and rocket research sites, which

were scattered across the nation, from prying

American eyes, and the possibility of air strikes

if war ever broke out – Soviet national pride

was at stake

Conceptual design studies were carried out in

1958-59 for an interceptor capable of high Mach

performance. Mikoyan’s design was known as

the Ye-155P (Perekhvatchik – radar-directed) as

the interceptor and the Ye-115R (Razvedchik)

for reconnaissance. The bureau has a history of

designing aircraft with a dual role.

Such was the fear within the Kremlin of

America’s new Mach three capable fi ghters

and bombers that a directive was issued

MAI DESCRIBES THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND THE MULTITUDE OF SINGLE-SEAT MIG-25 FOXBAT VARIANTS THAT PROTECTED RUSSIA’S VAST

AIRSPACE DURING THE LAST TWO DECADES OF THE COLD WAR.

At the height of the Cold War, grainy black and white images were released to the West illustrating

the latest weapons of the Soviet Union. These two MiG-25Ps are each armed with four Acrid radar

guided AAMs during a practice mission over the Soviet Union in the late 1970s.

MIG 25 IN DETAIL.indd 2 04/05/2018 16:25