That high thrust-to-weight ratio coupled with a low weight-to-wing area also allows for a high degree of maneuverability, making for what the Air Force hoped would be a superior combination of traits when compared to the Soviet powerhouse MiG-25.Īn F-15 Eagle from the 142nd Fighter Wing takes off from Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon (U.S. In other words, the F-15 is so powerful that it can actually accelerate while flying straight up. It could fly at speeds in excess of Mach 2.5, thanks to a pair of powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 afterburning turbofans that actually produce more thrust than the aircraft’s drag and weight combined. Within five years, the F-15 Eagle would enter service with the new MiG set squarely in its sights. Israeli fighters tried to shoot the aircraft down months later when it returned, but it simply blew past them at better than Mach 3.Īrmed with their limited understanding of this new Soviet super-jet, the Air Force redoubled their efforts to field a purpose-built dogfighter that could actually stand toe-to-toe with the Foxbat. Those fears were exacerbated in March of 1971, when Israeli radar operators picked up an unusual Soviet aircraft traveling at an astonishing Mach 3.2 at altitudes higher than the F-4 or even Soviet MiG-23 could manage. When the Pentagon first got wind of the MiG-25 Foxbat in 1970, the aircraft’s large wing area coupled with two powerful engines suggested to intelligence analysts that it was a highly capable air superiority fighter.

Aircraft missing half wing