>>64131955
>US Navy Orions searched the area covered by new F-15s in their first combat patrols. On the other side was Soviet MiG-31s armed to the teeth.
>An F-15 pilot, then a junior lieutenant, Rob Graeter, recalls that they were flying with eight missiles and three fuel tanks, so we were not going any faster than Mach 1.1.
>But on my first flight, I remember that they had intelligence how fast the MiGs flew at 70,000 feet, armed with two radar-guided and four infrared-guided missiles, a full combat load at a staggering Mach 2.83.
>That was pretty eye-opening and that they could do that run with enough gas and to carry their missiles.
>The US Air Force had no idea how to approach this new threat because just like with the Foxbat, they didn't know what to expect. Eagle pilots soon developed a new tactic, dropping their fuel tanks on contact and getting up to Mach 1.7 and 40,000 feet as fast as possible.
>And then they could engage the enemy and have enough energy for possible combat.
https://youtu.be/Dm_gesmnpxY?t=820