Indian MiG-25 pilots said that Pakistani F-16s were not considered a serious threat to the Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. The main advantage of the Foxbat was not maneuverability or armament, but a combination of speed and flight altitude.
During reconnaissance missions over Pakistan, the MiG-25 climbed to approximately 20 km, where the capabilities of conventional fighters sharply decreased. Former Indian Air Force pilots Sumit Mukherjee and Pradip Jaswant Thakur admitted that they had not encountered a situation where a Pakistani F-16 could approach the aircraft to a dangerous distance.
We were absolutely confident that the F-16 would not be able to catch us.
The technical feature of the MiG-25 allowed it to simply escape the interception zone due to its speed and altitude. The reconnaissance version, however, did not have a standard onboard radar, so the crew could not rely on a typical air situation picture.
Recall that the aircraft was developed at OKB-155. The MiG-25 was produced in two variants — a reconnaissance-bomber and an interceptor. The first was in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces until 2013, the second — until the mid-90s.
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