No 2. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
| Maximum speed | High altitude: Mach 3.2 (3,500 km/h, 2,170 mph)
Low altitude: 1,200 km/h (650 knots, 740 mph) |
| Range | 1,730 km, 1,075 mi |
| Service ceiling | 20,700 m (with 4 missiles) (67,915 ft; over 80,000ft (24.4 km) for RB models) |
| Wing loading | 598 kg/m² (122.5 lb/ft²) |
| Thrust/weight | 0.41 |
| Time to altitude | 8.9 min to 20,000 m (65,615 ft) |
Designed by the Soviet union this high-supersonic fighter jet topped at Mach 3.2 and was first flown as a prototype in 1964. This baby worried the west so much that it was probably the sole reason behind the development of F-15 eagle by the US. A total of 1,950 MiG-25s were produced. With 18+ variants, this aircraft is still in operation in multiple countries including Syria, Turkmenistan and Russia itself.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgpFjDzUldk[/youtube]
No 1. Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
| Maximum speed | Mach 3.2+ (2,200+ mph, 3,530+ km/h) |
| Range | 5,400 km, 3355 mi |
| Ferry range | 5,925 km, 3680 mi |
| Service ceiling | 85,000 ft (25,900 m) |
| Rate of climb | 11,810 ft/min (60 m/s) |
| Wing loading | 94 lb/ft² (460 kg/m²) |
| Thrust/weight | 0.382 |
This must be the dream of every pilot in the air force, operating at Mach 3.2+ and topping at whopping Mach 3.6 the first Lockheed SR-71 flew on 22 December, 1964 and only 32 BlackBirds were produced of which 12 were lost in accidents. The defensive feature of this awesome beauty, in case a surface-to-air missile was launched, was just, to accelerate. Flying at such high speeds and altitudes of around 90,000 ft it not only had to overcome the sound barrier but also the heat barrier; its skin temperature reaching more than 1050 fahrenheit. It was finally retired in 1998 due to budget constraints.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiFWdlaNgmo[/youtube]
