When a MiG-25 Fired on the SR-71—and the Missile May Have Locked Back on Its Firing Jet

A Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat reportedly fired an AA-6 air-to-air missile at a U.S. SR-71 Blackbird near Vladivostok, but the Blackbird’s Defensive Electronic Gear allegedly interrupted the lock. Some accounts suggest the missile may have locked back onto the MiG-25 that fired it, illustrating the dangerous and fast-paced cat-and-mouse dynamic of Cold War high-speed interception. The piece also recalls Viktor Belenko’s 1976 defection and the Soviet goal of shooting down the SR-71 as the “holy grail,” while noting the MiG-25’s limitations at high speed and altitude.