This jet was a Soviet machine built to intercept American aircraft during the cold war like the SR-71 and high- slow flying surveillance aircraft. Since it was built to intercept the SR-71 it was required to have an extreme speed, hence its mach 3.2 top capability. The Foxbat, unlike the Blackbird, featured 4 air-to-air missiles which made it an interceptor rather than a reconnaissance aircraft. It has never shot down a Blackbird but it has had many other combat missions which have been successful, for instance in the Iran-Iraq war. Over 1100 Foxbats were built between 1964 and 1984, however today the use is limited, with its only users being Russia, Syria, Algeria and Turkmenistan. For more information about this astonishing bird see the link at the bottom of the article. The MiG-25 was also the fastest plane ever offered for fun flights by MiGFlug - it was mainly used for Edge of Space flights.

Bell X-2 "Starbuster"
The Bell X-2 was a rocket-powered research plane jointly developed by Bell Aircraft Corporation, the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the precursor to NASA) in 1945. The aircraft was built to investigate aerodynamic issues with supersonic flight within the Mach 2 to Mach 3 range.
The X-2, nicknamed "Starbuster," completed its first powered flight in November 1955. The following year, in September 1956, Captain Milburn Apt was at the controls when the X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph, or 3,370 km/h), at an altitude of 65,000 feet (19,800 m).
Shortly after attaining this top speed, however, Apt tried to turn the aircraft while it was still above Mach 3. The plane tumbled out of control, and Apt's attempts to recover from the spin failed. This tragic accident ended the X-2 program, after a total of 20 test flights.

MiG-25 Foxbat

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat was designed to intercept enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds and to collect reconnaissance data. The plane is one of the fastest military aircraft to have entered operational service. The MiG-25 made its first flight in 1964, and was first used by the Soviet Air Defense Forces in 1970.

The plane has an incredible top speed of Mach 3.2 (2,190 mph, or 3,524 km/h). The MiG-25 Foxbat is still in limited service in the Russian Air Force, but is also used by several other nations, including the Algerian Air Force and Syrian Air Force.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. It was designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, and built primarily using stainless steel, one of the few combat aircraft to do so. It was the last plane designed by Mikhail Gurevich before his retirement.

Length: 64.80 ft Wingspan: 45.96 ft Passengers: 1 Introduced: 1970 Manufacturer: Mikoyan Type: Interceptor aircraft.

Crew: 1
Length: 19.75 m (64 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 14.01 m (45 ft 11.5 in)
Height: 6.10 m (20 ft 0.25 in)
Wing area: 61.40 m² (660.93 ft²)
Empty weight: 20,000 kg (44,080 lb)
Loaded weight: 36,720 kg (80,952 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Tumansky R-15B-300 afterburning turbojets Dry thrust: 73.5 kN (16,524 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 100.1 kN (22,494 lbf) each

Maximum speed:High altitude: Mach 3.2 (3,470 km/h; 2,170 mph); Mach 2.83 (3,200 km/h; 1,920 mph) (continuous engine limit)
Low altitude: Mach 0.97 (1,200 km/h; 746 mph)
Range: 1,730 km (1,075 mi; 935 nmi) with internal fuel
Ferry range: 2,575 km (1,390 mi; 1,600 nmi)
Service ceiling: 20,700 m (67,915 ft) with four missiles
Rate of climb: 208 m/s (40,950 ft/min)
Wing loading: 598 kg/m² (122.5 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.41
Time to altitude: 8.9 min to 20,000 m (65,615 ft)
Maximum g-load: 4.5 g

Role: Interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft
National origin: Soviet Union
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich / Mikoyan
First flight: 6 March 1964
Introduction: 1970
Status: In limited service
Primary users: Soviet Air Defence Forces (historical)
Indian Air Force (historical)
Algerian Air Force
Produced: 1964-1984
Number built: 1,186
Developed into: Mikoyan MiG-31