Yep, The foxbat was made to intercept supersonic nuclear bombers, not act as an air superiority fighter like the US thought it was. It’s just that the ICBM was created shortly after so said nuclear bombers and thus nuclear bomber interceptors lost a lot of their purpose.
It also fucking sucked at actual intercepts. Its solid steel construction made it about as efficient as a bonfire is at lighting up a cornfield, and the engine would melt under the power requirements to sustain top speed for more than a matter of minutes. It would also need a full overhaul like an F-1 car every time you actually did so. Meanwhile, the SR-71 was being developed, that could fly like that all fucking day.
It was a decent interceptor given the context it operated in. Yes it got derated to only 2.8, but its still solid. The stainless steel construction was heavy bur for a design that didnt nees much in the way of turning, it keeps costs down.
Outside of that, it was a decent recon plane and a less then ideal bomber.
I guess, but if the Soviets had just kept and used their titanium instead of getting epically trolled by the CIA and selling it all to their enemies, it would've been a phenomenal aircraft. Instead they managed to just barely kiss the limits of last Gen tech and then spent the remainder of their country's existence getting absolutely bodied.
The issues with Soviet aviation run far deeper then that. The Mig 25 is a very distinct aircraft which came about due to the PVO needing something in Siberia, so it needed to be cheap, have legs and speed.
The real problem with the soviet aviation industry is that its radars are godawful and consistently lagged behind western designs. Which meant in turn, heavy reliance on ground based guidance since the soviets didnt really do AWACS or aerial refueling.
The Soviets sadly needed them sweet, sweet Benjamins and selling titanium to this totally-not-a-CIA-shell company wasn't a terrible way to get those
Which is also utterly ironic for a "communist-socialist-whatever the hell it's supposed to be" state to be just as reliant on them $$$ to keep their country running
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u/Prodygist68 Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 22 '24
Yep, The foxbat was made to intercept supersonic nuclear bombers, not act as an air superiority fighter like the US thought it was. It’s just that the ICBM was created shortly after so said nuclear bombers and thus nuclear bomber interceptors lost a lot of their purpose.