NATO has a special tactical classification for Soviet (and now Russian) weapons. Most of the names that Americans come up with for our weapons do not look very appropriate and appropriate, too pretentious and too far-fetched. There are exceptions to this practice. For example, one Soviet aircraft in NATO received the tactical designation "Foxbat" and it must be admitted that it turned out to be just right. What kind of plane is this, and why was an emergency hearing of the Congress gathered for the sake of Foxbat?
Elusive and cunning, just like a fox while hunting. The "Foxbat" NATO index hides the MiG-25 supersonic fighter, well-known to most of our compatriots, which for a long time remained the fastest aircraft in its class. It was created as a counterbalance to the American Valkyrie supersonic bombers, as well as the Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft (the famous SR-71 Blackbird).
The finest hour of the MiG-25 struck in the early 1970s during operations in the Sinai Peninsula. As a result of "pilot error" (the operation, of course, was not a mistake), the Soviet plane was able to detect the IDF fortifications and report their location. In one flight, the new "Foxbat" did what the Arab generals could not do in several years, losing several MiGs and "Sukhikhs".
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Everything was complicated for the Americans by the fact that none of the planes sent to intercept could catch up with the harmful troublemaker. The NATO air defense in the region turned out to be helpless, in particular, the missiles of the brand new MIM-23 Hawk were never able to hit the MiG-25. The Soviet car went unpunished primarily due to the fact that it developed a speed of up to 3,400 km / h at an altitude of 20 km. Supersonic fighters of the USSR and the USA did not do anything like that before the MiG-25.
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After the daring operation of the Soviet Air Force, an emergency meeting was even organized in the US Congress. For the next two years, until new American fighters and missiles for air defense appeared, NATO's strategic air reconnaissance was seriously constrained. However, while American politicians and generals tore at their hair, American industrialists rejoiced. After all, thanks to the Soviet "Foxbat" they received a lot of "fat" orders from the state.
Unfortunately, the USSR could not win on all fronts. Already in 1976, the triumphant demonstration of the MiG-25 was overshadowed by the success of American intelligence and the domestic fiasco. First, one of the "foxes" was handed over to NATO by a Soviet traitor pilot who flew to Japan on the 25th. It was the notorious Viktor Belenko. Immediately after this, the engineer Adolf Tolkachev, who was recruited, caused great damage to the Soviet aircraft industry and the Air Force. The CIA and "leaked" a large amount of important information regarding the design of the MiG-25, as well as on a number of related projects.
All these gloomy events for the domestic military-industrial complex forced to urgently modernize the "fox". As a result, the MiG-31 aircraft was born, which is still in service with Russia. By the way, 29 world records were set on it.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about why IL-96 is not used for passenger transportation, if even the president flies on it.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/310320/53976/