Sep 24, 2026 · 28 min · 10 segments
Originally aired 1 July 2026 as an audio-only episode. Now fully edited as a video documentary. **Ways to support the podcast:** Buy Me a Coffee: ☕…
Phil ThompsonHost
Over the Mediterranean, over the Middle East, these aircraft appeared doing as they pleased and left once they had achieved their mission.
The US Air Force Secretary had described the MiG-25 as probably the best interceptor in production in the world.
The Secretary of Defense had warned that its widespread deployment would force fundamental changes in Western strategy and weaponry.
The embarrassment of the U-2 incident still fresh in their minds, they didn't want to risk another international debacle.
Conceived around 1960, the MiG-25 was intended to counter the American B-70 Valkyrie bomber.
The Soviet Union needed an interceptor of comparable performance quickly and without the resources or the time to develop a Western-style solution.
The result was an aircraft built to do just one thing, climb fast, make a single firing pass at a high altitude bomber and land.
As it turned out, the threat it was built to counter, the B-70, was cancelled before the MiG-25 even entered production.
Over the Mediterranean, over the Middle East, these aircraft appeared doing as they pleased and left once they had achieved their mission.
The US Air Force Secretary had described the MiG-25 as probably the best interceptor in production in the world.
The Secretary of Defense had warned that its widespread deployment would force fundamental changes in Western strategy and weaponry.
The embarrassment of the U-2 incident still fresh in their minds, they didn't want to risk another international debacle.
Conceived around 1960, the MiG-25 was intended to counter the American B-70 Valkyrie bomber.
The Soviet Union needed an interceptor of comparable performance quickly and without the resources or the time to develop a Western-style solution.
The result was an aircraft built to do just one thing, climb fast, make a single firing pass at a high altitude bomber and land.
As it turned out, the threat it was built to counter, the B-70, was cancelled before the MiG-25 even entered production.
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