The Soviet Fighter Jet That Scared America Into Making The F-15

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, better known simply as the F-15, is a legend of the skies. Sleek, fast, and boasting an array of weapons, the F-15 has been a staple of the United States Air Force's arsenal in some form since the 1970s. While the military minds who dedicated their professional lives to making these planes deserve credit for their accomplishments, it's worth noting that without a specific fighter jet from the USSR, the F-15 might not have come to fruition, at least at the time it did.

In 1967, the Soviet Union took to the skies with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, aka the Foxbat, which seemed utterly terrifying. The interceptor could reach a top speed of Mach 2.83 and was said to feature top-of-the-line navigation technology and weaponry. Suffice to say, it appeared to outclass the United States' main aircraft at the time, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, by a mile. 

Once those in the U.S. caught wind of the Soviets' new plane, they went into panic mode and swiftly began developing a new craft of their own. McDonnell Douglas, specifically, got to work, and within a few years of conceptualization, construction, and testing, the F-15 was born. Though the MiG-25 seemed to give the U.S. reason to worry, in reality, many of its apparent strengths turned out to be merely superficial.

[Featured image by Rob Schleiffert via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]

When the Soviets revealed the MiG-25 to the world, it was a huge deal. The 1967 October Revolution airshow was a highly-publicized event with the aforementioned craft front-and-center. Three of them were even shown on a broadcast flying high over the heads of attendees, showing off the MiG-25's flight capabilities, wingspan, and overall size. This gave United States military personnel cause for concern, especially as further information about the craft was limited. However, in hindsight, it's almost funny to think that this was the aircraft that spurred the creation of the F-15.

There's no denying that the MiG-25 is a fast plane, as it remains one of the fastest aircraft to ever get off the ground almost 60 years after its unveiling. In truth, though, its impressive speed is just about all it really had going for it. For instance, it was predominantly made of stainless steel because aluminum was in short supply at the time. Tht means each plane weighed a whopping 64,000 pounds. To lift such a mammoth jet off the ground, MiG-25s required two Tumansky R-15B-300s engines. Though they were large, they were rather unreliable in practice. Its radar was also lacking for the era, and its weaponry left much to be desired.

It may endure as one of the most iconic fighter jets ever built, but the MiG-25 had some serious shortcomings. At least it paved the way for the F-15 to hit the runway.