Aircraft & UAVs

MiG-25 fighter aircraft

The MiG-25 Foxbat is a Soviet high-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft built by Mikoyan-Gurevich for high-altitude air defense and reconnaissance missions. In the Nagorno-Karabakh archive it is included narrowly because Azerbaijan was reported to keep MiG-25 interceptors in reserve during the 2020 Karabakh stand-off; reliable fact-checking did not support viral claims that an Azerbaijani MiG-25 was shot down in the 2020 fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh ConflictAzerbaijan

Conflict side: Azerbaijan
Built by: Mikoyan-GurevichMikoyan
Built in: Soviet UnionRussia

MiG-25 fighter aircraft, High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Profile

Type: High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft
Conflict side: Azerbaijan
Origin: Soviet Union
Service note: Cold War design; legacy reserve inventories persisted into the 2020 South Caucasus stand-off

air defense reconnaissance strike

Service History

In service: Entered Soviet service in 1970; later exported or inherited by several operators
Used by: Azerbaijani Air Force, Soviet Air Defence Forces, Iraqi Air Force, Indian Air Force, Algerian Air Force
Wars: Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Production History

Designer: Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau
Designed: 1959-1960s development; first flight in 1964
Built by: Mikoyan-GurevichMikoyan
Built in: Soviet UnionRussia
Produced: 1964-1984
Number built: About 1,186 aircraft
Variants: MiG-25P, MiG-25PD, MiG-25RB, MiG-25RBT, MiG-25PU

Specifications

Crew: 1 in operational interceptor and reconnaissance variants; 2 in trainer variants
Role: High-speed interceptor, reconnaissance aircraft, and reconnaissance-bomber variants
Maximum speed: Mach 2.83 operational limit cited by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Armament: Up to four long-range air-to-air missiles on interceptor variants
Powerplant: Two Tumansky R-15-series afterburning turbojets
Maximum takeoff weight: About 36,720 kg for MiG-25P/PDS-class data
Ceiling: About 20,700 m service ceiling in commonly cited MiG-25PDS data

Conflict Usage

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Side: AzerbaijanRole: Reserve high-speed interceptorair defense reconnaissance
Reported in Azerbaijani reserve service during the 2020 Karabakh stand-off; treated here as a reserve air-defense and reconnaissance aircraft, not as a documented 2020 combat sortie or shootdown.

MiG-25 fighter aircraft Images

MiG-25 fighter aircraft, High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs - view 1

MiG-25 fighter aircraft, High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs - view 2

MiG-25 fighter aircraft, High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs - view 3

MiG-25 fighter aircraft, High-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs - view 4

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Sources

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25Publisher: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | Note: Supports manufacturer/background context, Soviet service entry, Mach 2.83 speed, radar, missile armament, and public-domain U.S. Air Force image provenance. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 MiG-25 FoxbatPublisher: Global Aircraft | Note: Supports technical specifications including role, contractor, crew, dimensions, powerplant, maximum takeoff weight, speed, ceiling, and armament. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Azerbaijan Buys the M-346 as Caucasus Stand-off ContinuesPublisher: Aviation International News | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict context: MiG-25 interceptors fielded by Azerbaijan in reserve during the 2020 Karabakh stand-off. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Armenia Shot Down Azerbaijani MiG-25? It's a Video Game SimulationPublisher: The Quint | Note: Supports background caution that a 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict video claiming an Azerbaijani MiG-25 was shot down was not real combat footage. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Commons MiG-25 Right Underside Rear ViewPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary gallery image, a public-domain U.S. federal government image of a Soviet MiG-25 carrying AA-6 missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Commons Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat-EPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain DoD left-side view of a Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat-E with missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Commons MiG-25 Underside ViewPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain underside view of a Soviet MiG-25. | Accessed: 2026-06-20 Commons MiG-25 FoxbatPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Air Force image of an Iraqi MiG-25 found buried near Baghdad. | Accessed: 2026-06-20