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Posted on 05/01/2026 1:13:18 AM PDT by Red Badger
For 25 years, Soviet pilots flew impossible missions—chasing an American aircraft that flew higher, faster, and more untouchable than anything in their arsenal. The SR-71 Blackbird operated at 85,000 feet and Mach 3.3. Soviet MiG-25 interceptors? They could barely reach 80,000 feet at Mach 2.8—and only for minutes before their engines burned out.
This is the story of over 800 failed intercept attempts. Of pilots who whispered the truth in ready rooms while filing false reports for Moscow. Of the psychological toll of chasing excellence you can see but never reach.
March 6, 1982: Major Mikhail Myagkiy climbs toward 80,000 feet in his MiG-25, fuel gauges plummeting, knowing the SR-71 above him will simply accelerate away. He's done this before. Every Soviet interceptor pilot has. And they all know the same terrible secret.
They're not defending Soviet airspace. They're performing theater for politicians who refuse to accept reality.
36 Minute Video at link..................
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
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AVIATION PING!................
AEROSPACE Ping!....................
“...while filing false reports for Moscow.”
I watched some youtube last night about the USA’s use of battlefield reports during WWII. It was probably AI, but it sounded reasonable.
The Germans beat us terribly at Kassarene (sp?) Pass, but a month(?) later the same US troops beat the Germans. The Germans couldn’t understand. The video said that information was gathered and distributed so quickly so that all of the US troops got the new information on tactics. Even privates could submit action reports on what they saw - what worked and what didn’t.
The video said that the Germans would file false reports to avoid demotions and the ire of Hitler.
I’ll chime in a little bit to agree with you. The Germans were top down focused. And we were spongie... We absorbed our Intel and put it to go use. A private or Sgt could point out a weakness. And they were taken seriously.
Rotations of personnel also leads to innovations be used in the field. An example from personal experience if I may. A shore assignment in a repair facility provided hands on use of innovative techniques on piping systems aboard different vessels. Then during a sea assignment an emergency in an engine room lube oil pipe to the engine reduction gears occurred while underway. As an E4 I had the knowledge and confidence to make a temporary fix with the pipe still online as CPO and other E5 and 6s watched and learned. Our services are excellent at adaptation and improvement.
There was a mig that was flown to the U.S. by a Soviet defector. I think this was around the end of the Vietnam war or shortly after if I remember correctly. American engineers reported it was overblown hype pertaining to the jet’s capabilities, performance and structure. They said it would be like flying a high powered garbage can and would probably come apart if flown at top speed for even a short time, due to poor metals and weak welds. It was high powered junk.
One historian said it took 1.7 US lives to kill one German soldier during the war and that included all the germans killed in the massive allied bombing campaign.
Would like to see that.
Quick search came up with 141,000 US killed in European theater.
This came up, not verified it’s Wikipedia, but would include deaths resulting from all allied action. Claim seems untrue, but again would like to see source information from professor
“ Total Western Front (1944–1945): While Eastern Front losses were higher, total German deaths/missing in the West from D-Day to the end was near or exceeded 1 million”
There was a defector who flew a Mig-25 from Siberia to Japan, I think in the mid 1970’s. The USAF took it apart all the way down to the last lockwasher. The soviets raised all kinds of hell. They wanted their plane back. Eventually the AF sent it back with each individual part packaged. Thousands of individual packages. They got their plane back.
That’s actually a really good ratio for an attacking force.
It’s normally 5:1
Cool. That’s what I was trying to do! I’ll try to get the Mod to delete the one I put up. Stand by...
I checked with duckai. The answer from that source was roughly 250,000 Americans died in the European Theater.
German losses were estimated about 4,400,000 to 5,300,000
The German loses would likely also include those killed by the Soviets, which would likely be over half the amount listed above. Then the Brits and other forces likely took out a considerable quantity.
Regardless, it was a staggering loss of life. I’ve read/heard that the finest army in the world at that time was the German Army. Their biggest problem was their lunatic boss, Hitler, who tried to micromanage the war. Hitler was in essence a great ally in the defeat of his own forces.
They never followed my recommendation for the M-16.
“They never followed my recommendation for the M-16.“
“The Best and Brightest “ had that covered.
“Okhuyet!”
And the SR’s take great pictures, too.
wy69
He believed his own sycophants, who said he was a strategic genius. There is a lesson in that for all leaders.
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