The MiG-25 possessed exceptionally high performance, with a maximum speed of Mach 3.2 not to mention an acknowledged 1977 world altitude record of 123,523.58 ft (37,650 m) in a specially prepared MiG-25 is still awesome, even 44 years after the MiG-25 Foxbat's initial flight. The current service status of the remaining MiG-25's is unclear following the break-up of the Soviet Block but some of the 1190 aircraft produced were still operational in 2006 in both interceptor and reconnaissance roles. During Operation Iraqi Freedom US troops in Iraq discovered numerous Iraqi Air Force aircraft buried in the sand near the Tahmmouz Air Force Base in July 2003, they included the MiG-25 pictured above (the wings had been removed and buried separately). Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25P 'Foxbat-A' Specifications: - Crew: Pilot only
- Length: 19.75 m (64 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 14.01 m (45 ft 11.5 in)
- Height: 6.10 m (20 ft 0.25 in)
- Wing area: 61.40 m² (660.93 ft²)
- Empty weight: 20,000 kg (44,080 lb)
- Loaded weight: 36,720 kg (80,952 lb)
- Engines: Twin 100.1 kN (22,494 lbf) Tumansky R-15B-300 afterburning turbojets
- Mach 3.2 (3,645 km/h, 2,385 mph)
- Range: 1,730 km (1,075 mi) with internal fuel
- Service ceiling 20,700 m (with 4 missiles) (67,915 ft)
- Time to altitude: 8.9 min to 20,000 m (65,615 ft)
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25P 'Foxbat-A' Armament: - Twin radar-guided R-40R air-to-air missiles
- Twin infrared-guided R-40T missiles
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