OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM....An Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat Found Buried Under The Sand West Of Baghdad

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM....An Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat Found Buried Under The Sand West Of Baghdad (NSI News Source Info) January 3, 2008: A search team discovers a MiG-25 Foxbat buried beneath the sands in Iraq. Several MiG-25 interceptors and Su-25 ground attack jets have been found buried at Al-Taqqadum air field west of Baghda. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant T. Collins) The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO reporting name "Foxbat") is a high-supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance/bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau. First flown as a prototype in 1964, it entered service in 1970. With a top speed of Mach 3.2, a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles, the MiG-25 worried Western observers and prompted development of the F-15 Eagle. The aircraft's true capabilities were not revealed to the west until 1976 when Viktor Belenko, a Soviet MiG-25 pilot, defected to Japan. Subsequent analysis revealed a simple-yet-functional design with vacuum-tube electronics, two massive turbojet engines, and sparing use of advanced materials such as titanium. The MiG-25 series had a production run of 1,190 aircraft. The MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics and it remains in limited service in Russia and several other nations.