Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Source-Wikimedia Commons / Author- Dmitry A. Mottl Source- The National Interest Author- Michael Peck The Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat was one of the most famous fighters of the Cold War. A big, powerful, twin-engine interceptor that could fly faster than Mach 3 and 70,000 feet, the Foxbat set several speed and altitude records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The MiG-25 shocked Western nations accustomed to thinking of Soviet jets as cheap, expendable and inferior. Indeed, the MiG-25 spurred the development of a new generation of American fighters such as the F-15 (not to mention inspiring a bad Clint Eastwood movie). But had things turned out differently, instead of carrying guns and missiles, the MiG-25 would have carried stewardesses, vodka, and some lucky passengers on the ride of their life. In the early 1960s, the MiG design bureau proposed turning the MiG-25 into the world's first supersonic business jet. Instead of rude Aeroflot flight attendants on dec

As many may not be aware, one of my interests is strategic and defense affairs. I am specially interested in combat planes. My interests were kindled at an early age when my father first bought for me The Encyclopedia of Combat Planes from one of his tours. My interests were further enhanced by the Wings program which had complete history shown on Discovery channel. Here i am trying to make a list of my most favorite aircrafts. When one talks about combat planes, one can never ignore the contributions made by the Americans and the Russians. They are the world leaders in Aeronautics. While the Americans concentrated more on the aesthetic aspect of the plane, it was all about getting the job done for the Russians. The Russian planes were rugged and tough. The Americans concentrated more on making high end and high tech planes. I have curtailed my countdown to planes that entered services after the 1950's. It is done to limit the planes that I can deal. In the first part, I am deal