> The F-15... was designed to go head-to-head with the Soviet’s MiG-25 and was the top dog for years...
However, the MiG-25 was an interceptor, primarily of the SR-71, so it didn't have the maneuverability of a fighter, but could approach the speed and service ceiling of an SR-71. The West didn't realize this until Victor Belenko defected w/ a MiG-25 in 1976, well after the F-15 had been designed. Belenko's biography is a good insight into the MiG-25 and Soviet life, or @ least that's my recollection from reading it as a teenager.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25
http://www.amazon.com/Mig-Pilot-Final-Escape-Belenko/dp/0380...