https://cast.pudmed.ir/videos/watch/38f4cf9e-3391-4cea-8ae0-60bdc0da6dfc The 1960s. The Soviet Union is losing the fighter race. America fields the F-4 Phantom – powerful, radar‑equipped, missile‑armed. The Soviet MiG-21 is nimble but short‑legged. The MiG-23 is fast but flawed. Then come the F-14, F-15, and F-16 – a new generation that outflies anything the USSR has. Moscow demands a response. What follows is a decade of struggle, failure, and finally, triumph. In this full-length episode: 📉 The Gap Widens – Why the MiG‑23 (swing wing, look‑down radar) failed to close the gap. Its poor agility, unreliable engines, and horrific accident rate. We compare it to the F-4 and F-14 – and explain why Soviet pilots called it “the beast.” 🔬 Learning from the Foxbat Deception – The MiG‑25 scared NATO but was a tactical dead end. How its 1976 defection revealed Soviet weaknesses – and forced a total rethink. 📋 The PFI Program – The Soviet “Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel” (Advanced Tactical Fighter). A requirement for two new fighters: a heavy long‑range interceptor (to match the F-15) and a light agile dogfighter (to counter the F-16). The result: the Su‑27 Flanker and MiG‑29 Fulcrum. ⚔ Design Wars – Sukhoi vs. Mikoyan – Inside the fierce rivalry. Sukhoi’s Su‑27 (large, heavy, with revolutionary fly‑by‑wire) vs. MiG’s MiG‑29 (smaller, cheaper, but short‑range). Rare archival footage of prototypes T-10 (Su‑27) and 9-12 (MiG‑29). 🛫 First Flights and Near‑Disasters – The Su‑27 nearly killed its test pilot during a high‑AoA spin. The MiG‑29 lost a prototype to an engine fire. We trace the painful path to production. 🌟 Finally, Parity – By the mid‑1980s, the Su‑27 and MiG‑29 enter service. For the first time since the MiG‑15, Soviet fighters are equal – some say superior – to their American rivals. We examine the Flanker’s legendary Pugachev’s Cobra and the Fulcrum’s helmet‑sighted missiles. Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:38:33 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://cast.pudmed.ir https://cast.pudmed.ir/lazy-static/avatars/eed1cb33-d04c-4158-b000-2f2fb9545c13.png https://cast.pudmed.ir/videos/watch/38f4cf9e-3391-4cea-8ae0-60bdc0da6dfc All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://cast.pudmed.ir/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.