In July 1967, the Soviet Union reveals what appears to be a new super-fighter.
And it sets off alarm bells.
We currently have no fighter in our operational inventory that could constantly, if successfully,
combat the Foxbat.
It is thought to have multiple air-to-air and long long-range air-to-surface missile
capability at a speed of Mach 3.
With the United States and Soviet Union locked in a struggle for air superiority, the Soviets
seemed to be winning.
Faced with the prospect of being outclassed in the skies, the United States would respond
by engineering the greatest fighter jet in history.
In the Korean War, early fighter jets like the American F-86 and Soviet MiG-15 squared
off in fierce air-to-air battles.
Both were light, agile jets built for close-range dogfighting.
But by the mid-1950s, new technologies were beginning to radically transform fighter aircraft design.
Powerful new radars could detect the enemy from much greater distances, while newly introduced
guided missiles could hit targets kilometers away.
Military planners grew convinced that air battles of the future would be fought beyond
visual range, where the enemy wouldn’t be more than a distant blip on a radar screen.
And it meant the newest fighter jet, the F-4 Phantom, was no longer light or agile.
It was fast, heavily-loaded with missiles and carried a powerful radar.
Many believed that dogfighting had become obsolete.
But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
In the Vietnam War, the Air Force’s new approach was put to the test.
But things didn’t go as planned.
The skies over Vietnam were a chaotic mix of enemy and friendly aircraft and the systems
designed to help Air Force pilots identify the enemy proved unreliable.
Forcing pilots to get in close to visually confirm each target.
The whole idea of engaging from a distance fell apart.
The new F-4 Phantoms were pulled in to close quarter dog fights against more agile MiGs.
Something their pilots had never been trained to do.
And the Phantom’s guided missiles proved hopelessly inaccurate.
Designed for larger, high-altitude targets, initially only 14% ever hit anything.
And when the missiles failed, pilots were left defenseless.
Because the F-4 was built without a gun for close combat.
The larger, less maneuverable Phantoms with their notoriously smoky engines were easily
spotted.
The more agile MiG’s lured the F-4s in close, knowing they were vulnerable.
The F-4 just barely held its own in this air space because it is an interceptor used as
a fighter, finding it difficult to compete with a fighter designed as a fighter.
American pilots were being downed at alarming rates and military planners were learning
that the age of dogfighting was far from over.
Air Force planners scrambled to respond, equipping the F-4 with pod-mounted Gatling guns and
training pilots to engage the more maneuverable MiGs.
But these were stop-gap solutions.
What the Air Force really needed was a new dedicated air superiority fighter.
And it meant scrapping every one of its earlier concepts for the next generation of fighter
aircraft, which now looked too large, too heavy, and likely to fare even worse than
the Phantom.
And they’d have to move quickly.
Because in 1967, the Soviet Union unveiled a new fighter of their own and it looked nothing
like the MiGs that F-4 Phantoms were squaring off with in Vietnam.
Everything seemed to suggest a fighter built for extreme maneuverability.
With twin tails, a massive wingspan, and monstrous engines.
Intelligence experts suspected the Soviets were using advanced lightweight materials,
along with new radar and weapons systems.
A few months later, the Soviet’s went on a record-setting spree, posting new world
speed and altitude records with the new fighter.
We currently have no fighter in our operational inventory that could constantly, if successfully,
combat the Foxbat.
If the experience in Vietnam wasn’t concerning enough, the Soviet Union now looked ready
to unleash a new super-fighter.
After spending the better part of two decades building mostly interceptors, fighter-bombers,
and attack aircraft, the Air Force finally set its sights on building a state-of-the-art
air superiority fighter.
In 1968, leading U.S. aircraft designers were invited to submit proposals.
Their entries would be assessed using a groundbreaking concept called Energy-Maneuverability.
A mathematical formula to help define a fighter’s total performance in terms of speed, thrust,
drag, and weight.
In December 1969, the contract to build the new fighter was awarded to McDonnell Douglas.
Their design was the product of 2.5 million man hours of effort, allowing development
to begin immediately.
The F-15 Eagle was designed from the ground up for tactical dominance in any air space.
Two afterburning turbofans could unleash a massive forty eight thousand pounds of combined
thrust.
Enough power to break the sound barrier… even while flying straight up.
With a top speed of over Mach 2.5, the F-15 would be the fastest fighter jet ever produced
by the United States.
For peak performance, the engines were fitted with variable air intakes with a computerized
air inlet control system adjusting to ensure optimal airflow at any speed or angle of attack.
Where earlier fighters like the F-4 had a reduced wing area for high supersonic speeds,
in the F-15, engineers instead opted for low wing loading which combined with a high thrust-to-weight
ratio, delivered superior maneuverability.
For maximum situational awareness, the cockpit was mounted high in the fuselage with a canopy
offering a commanding 360 degree view along with a digital heads up display fully integrated
with radar and avionics.
Eight Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles were mounted under wings and along the fuselage.
But if things got up close and personal, a 20 millimeter Gatling gun could dish out up
to six thousand rounds a minute.
And for maximum survivability, engineers designed in triple-redundant hydraulics, low-vulnerability
flight controls, and a reinforced airframe.
With its combination of speed, power and agility, the F-15 was ready to earn its place as one
of the greatest fighters ever built.
The first prototype was unveiled in June 1972, just 3 years after McDonald Douglas was given
the go ahead.
The new fighter was put through an extensive testing program and it would have to prove
itself against the best of what the Air Force had to offer.
Up against the heavy F-4 Phantom, the F-15 looked assured and in control, easily making
quick work of the interceptor.
[Radio chatter]
Even the smaller, lighter F-5, used to simulate more agile mig fighters in combat, struggled
to shake the larger F-15.
[Radio chatter]
In nearly every engagement, whether beyond visual range, or close in dogfighting, the
F-15 commanded an overwhelming advantage.
With a true air superiority fighter on their hands, the Air Force was ready to send a message
to the Soviet Union.
Only a year and half earlier, the Soviet’s posted new time-to-climb world records with
the Mig-25.
Now the F-15 was about to erase them.
In 1975, engineers stripped a pre-production F-15 of its non-mission critical components,
even removing its paint to make it as light as possible.
In the cold, dense air of North Dakota, the Eagle made a series of climbs from a dead
stop, rocketing up to altitudes as high as 30 kilometers.
Right to the edge of the earth’s stratosphere….
Not only did the F-15 beat the MiG’s records it shattered them by more than 25 percent.
The Air Force had a winner on their hands, and the F-15 Eagle would come to be recognized
as one of the most successful fighter development programs in history.
By 1974, the fighter was already in mass production with over 400 early F-15A and B models ordered
for the U.S. Air Force.
And America’s allies were also eager to get their hands on the new jet.
The first foreign operator was Israel beginning in 1976, followed by Japan a couple years
later and Saudi Arabia.
And with some of the first F-15's being deployed at West German air bases, right on the Soviet
Union’s doorstep, it seemed only a matter of time before the new fighter faced off against
the MiG-25.
In 1976, the Americans finally got a first hand look at the Soviet Union’s super fighter.
But it wasn't what they were expecting.
In September of that year, Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a 29 year old pilot with Soviet Air
Defence Forces made a fateful decision to escape the Soviet Union.
And he did it by secretly flying his MiG-25 from a Soviet air base in the Far East to
a civilian Airport in Japan.
After more than a decade shrouded in mystery, the Americans got a chance to examine the
Foxbat down to every last detail.
Although similar in size and appearance, the MiG-25 and F-15 had almost nothing else in
common.
Built mostly out of heavy nickel steel alloy, the Foxbat weighed nearly twice as much as
the F-15.
The large wings weren't for agility.
They were needed just to get the monstrous jet airborne.
The enormous weight meant that the MiG-25 could only pull a four and half G maneuver.
The F-15 was capable of nearly that.
Most of what the MiG carried was the fuel needed to feed its enormous engines.
Even so, its combat radius was a mere 300 kilometers.
Its avionics used outdated vacuum tubes, and its radar lacked look down capability.
Meaning it couldn't even detect an F-15 flying below it’s horizon.
The MiG-25 was anything but the dogfighting monster the Americans had feared.
It was purely a high altitude interceptor.
Designed to reach incredible speeds to catch enemy bombers.
But it wasn't built to do much else.
The Soviets had kept the Foxbat’s capabilities a closely guarded secret, cashing in on its
propaganda value and the alarm it had caused the Americans.
But now it was the Soviet’s turn to panic.
Because in 1976, the Soviet Union had no fighter that stood any chance of surviving a dogfight
with an F-15.
F-15s scored their first victories in 1979 when Israeli pilots downed 4 Syrian MiG-21's
in a single engagement.
Over the years the Eagle would win air battle after air battle, clearing the skies of adversaries
almost as a matter of routine.
Today, F-15’s have racked up more than 100 victories without a single defeat.
A record unmatched by any fighter in history.
Early F-15 A and B models were soon joined by C and D variants, improving on the aircraft's
range, payload and weapon systems.
Originally conceived of as an air superiority fighter, the F-15 would also be developed
into a formidable ground attack aircraft.
Leveraging the fighter’s superior range, speed and payload.
Nearly a half century after taking to the skies, the F-15 remains vital to the U.S.
Air Force.
With deliveries beginning in 2021, of the F-15EX, a thoroughly modernized replacement
for the F-15C.
The MiG-25 was never designed to combat an air superiority fighter like the F-15.
But in January of 1991, the two Cold War icons came face to face over the skies of Baghdad.
And the outcome wasn’t what anyone could have predicted.
Because what the MiG-25 lacked in maneuverability, it made up for in raw power as the fastest
fighter of all time.
And the Iraqis would use it to their advantage, devising a daring plan to ambush F-15 Eagles
as they patrolled the skies.
You can learn about this incredible air battle in my next video, coming exclusively to Nebula
this month.
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