Hobby Master 1/72 MIG-25PDS Foxbat 25211 "The Hornet Killer" flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood, Iraqi Air Force, Jan 1991 HA5602
The MiG-25 Foxbat is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft. The prototype flew in 1964 and entered service in 1970 with an operational speed of Mach 2.83 but if needed Mach 3.2 possibly damaging the engines. The MiG-25 caused concern for the U.S. who demanded increases in the performance of the F-15 Eagle under development. The MiG-25s large wings gave the impression of a highly weight of the stainless steel used to manufacture the MiG-25.weight of the stainless steel used to manufacture the MiG-25.
The first American casualty of Operation Desert Storm came on the night of January 17, 1991. LCDR Scott Spike Speicher was piloting an F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 Sunliners when his aircraft crashed. According to a fellow pilot on the same mission the F/A-18C was at 28,000 feet and hit by an R-40 missile fired from an Iraqi MiG- 25PDS believed to be flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the IrAF 84th Squadron. LCDR Speicher was listed as MIA but later changed to KIA.