The Cold War was a tense period between the West and the Soviet Union. No shots were fired between the superpowers, but the fear was real back then. With the possibilities of armed escalation anytime, it was hard to stay calm. I mean we got two nuclear-armed nations (U.S and the Soviet Union) constantly rattling their nuclear sabers at each other. They did maintain a well-armed force, ready to fight in the chilling event of a Nuclear war. And when they were not spying at each other, they engaged in propaganda campaigns, psychological warfares, proxy wars, embargos, technological competitions, and even the Space Race. The two nations did anything to dominate each other. The rivalry was so bitter that it showed even in sports event.

The Soviet Union did beat the West in certain scenarios. In fact, they were the one that started the Space Race. And one day, the West was shocked when the Soviet Union unleashed a new weapon. First seen in reconnaissance photos, it sparked concerns among planners, fearing that the skies now belongs to this potent Soviet combat aircraft. Officially it was known as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MIG-25 (or simply the MIG-25). NATO called it the “Foxbat.”