Slated for the specific purpose of intercepting the proposed United States B-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber, the MiG-25 was designed for extreme speed at the expense of combat maneuverability and cost. It created quite a stir in the West when prototypes shattered world records for speed, altitude, and climb rate. When Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to Japan in a MiG-25A in 1976, it was learned that the Foxbat was more simply constructed than expected. It is made mainly of steel, with expensive titanium alloys reserved only for the leading edges and around the engines, where heating from atmospheric friction is particularly intense. It was also learned that the Foxbat could not attain its maximum speed without nearly wrecking its engines. The MiG-25 is an immense aircraft, capable of carrying huge bomber-killing AAM's like the AA-6. It flies rather like a ballistic brick, however, and can't do much besides fly fast and shoot down equally unmaneuverable bombers. It spawned the development of the F-15 in the West, despite not being as capable as the West feared it was.
