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Originally posted by just_a_pilot
DE: The Soviets seem to have difficulty implementing modern technology.
Would you comment on that?
Belenko: Well, let's talk about aircraft engine lifetime. When I flew the
MiG-25, its engines had a total lifetime of 250 hours.
DE: Is that mean-time-between-failure?
Belenko: No, the engine is finished; it is scrapped.
DE: You mean they pull it out and throw it away, not even overhauling it?
Belenko: That is correct. Overhaul is too expensive.
DE: That is absurdly low by free world standards.
Belenko: I know.
-- an interview with Victor Belenko, MiG-25 fighter pilot who defected in 1976
"Defense Electronics", Vol 20, No. 6, pg. 102
Originally posted by Dima
well, yea, hell yea, the SR-71 is really fast, but it regretfully flies like a rock, if a missile was actually fired at it(well, it depends what missile)its screwed, nice and simple, most missiles can go around Mach 3, but some, like the new Russian AA-12 Adder is capable of Mach 4.5, so i think, that the reason why the russians didn't shoot down any SR-71's is because, they simply didn't have any missiles that were fast enough, but now they do, so, the US is using satellites,
and i doubt that the ameicans flew a lot of sorties across russian air space, because, the americans, were never aware of the massive biological plants and chemical plants as well as the numerous and countless hundreds of facilities that the russians used for scientific research, the americans never really could get a clear description
and just like amerca has Area 51, russia has Saratov base(although, unlike the american base, its actually a better kept secret)