>Western observers were amazed when MiG-25s flew over Israeli positions in the Sinai desert in 1973, at a speed of Mach 3.2. Only later did they learn that to f

>Western observers were amazed when MiG-25s flew over Israeli positions in the Sinai desert in 1973, at a speed of Mach 3.2. Only later did they learn that to fly at that speed, the Foxbat's engines had to be replaced after each flight. interesting that USSR kind of missed an opportunity here - it was the compressor that got damaged and thus switch to ramjet intake bypassing the compressor at those speeds, similar to SR-71, would have made that 3.2+ Mach a normal mode for MiG-25 (USSR did have 2.5 Mach ramjet missiles so the technology wouldn't be completely new)