{"id":2137473,"date":"2026-06-16T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=2137473"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:26:40","slug":"mig-25-fedotov-absolute-altitude-record-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/mig-25-fedotov-absolute-altitude-record-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"The Highest a Jet Has Ever Flown"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n<p>The highest a jet has ever flown under its own power is not an American record, and it is nearly half a century old. On August 31, 1977, Soviet test pilot Alexandr Fedotov zoom-climbed a MiG-25 to 37,650 metres &mdash; 123,523 feet &mdash; and no air-breathing aircraft has beaten it since.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is more than 23 miles up, well into the black of near-space, where the sky overhead turns dark and the curve of the Earth is unmistakable. The Foxbat got there not by cruising but by trading raw speed for height in a ballistic lunge toward the edge of the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-radius:8px;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#333;font-size:15px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;line-height:1.75\"><li><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Alexandr Fedotov, Mikoyan chief test pilot<\/li><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> August 31, 1977<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> a specially prepared MiG-25 (designated Ye-266M)<\/li><li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 37,650 m (123,523 ft) \u2014 FAI absolute record<\/li><li><strong>Technique:<\/strong> a high-speed \"zoom climb\"<\/li><li><strong>Status:<\/strong> still the absolute altitude record for an air-breathing jet<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">How You Fly to the Edge of Space<\/h2>\n\n<p>No jet can sustain level flight at 37 kilometres &mdash; the air is far too thin for wings or engines to work. So Fedotov did what record-setters do: he accelerated to high supersonic speed in the thick lower atmosphere, then pulled up and let momentum carry the aircraft upward like a thrown stone. Near the top, the engines were starved of air and the controls went mushy, the jet coasting on inertia alone before nosing over and falling back into breathable sky.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Plane the West Feared<\/h2>\n\n<p>The MiG-25 was built as a high-speed, high-altitude interceptor, and Western intelligence badly overestimated it &mdash; until a defector handed one over in 1976 and revealed steel construction and vacuum-tube electronics. Yet the Foxbat's brute performance was real, and the altitude record is its enduring proof. Fedotov, a Hero of the Soviet Union, would die in 1984 testing the MiG-25's successor, the MiG-31. His record outlived him, and it has outlived every jet built since.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Sources: F\u00e9d\u00e9ration A\u00e9ronautique Internationale (FAI) record listings; National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; The Aviation Geek Club.<\/em><\/p><!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What is the highest altitude a jet has ever flown?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The absolute altitude record for a jet is 37,650 metres (123,523 feet), set on 31 August 1977 by Soviet test pilot Alexandr Fedotov in a specially prepared MiG-25. It remains the highest flight ever achieved by an air-breathing jet aircraft.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Who set the jet altitude record?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Alexandr Fedotov, Mikoyan's chief test pilot, set it on 31 August 1977. Flying a specially prepared MiG-25 (designated Ye-266M), he reached 37,650 metres \u2014 a record recognised by the FAI that still stands today.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How does a jet reach such extreme altitude?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>No jet can fly level at 37 km \u2014 the air is far too thin for wings or engines. So Fedotov used a zoom climb: he accelerated to very high speed in the dense lower atmosphere, then pulled up and coasted ballistically to peak altitude on momentum before the engines starved of air.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What plane holds the jet altitude record?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>A specially prepared MiG-25, designated Ye-266M, holds it. The MiG-25's enormous engines and high-speed performance made it uniquely suited to the zoom-climb technique that carried Fedotov to 37,650 metres in 1977.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Has the jet altitude record ever been broken?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>No. Fedotov's 1977 mark of 37,650 metres remains the absolute altitude record for an air-breathing jet. Rockets and rocket planes have gone far higher, but no jet has matched it in nearly half a century.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the highest altitude a jet has ever flown?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The absolute altitude record for a jet is 37,650 metres (123,523 feet), set on 31 August 1977 by Soviet test pilot Alexandr Fedotov in a specially prepared MiG-25. It remains the highest flight ever achieved by an air-breathing jet aircraft.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who set the jet altitude record?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Alexandr Fedotov, Mikoyan's chief test pilot, set it on 31 August 1977. 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Rockets and rocket planes have gone far higher, but no jet has matched it in nearly half a century.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->\n\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/iran-f-14-tomcat-50-years-combat-isfahan-strikes-maverick-act-2026\/\">Iran's F-14 Tomcats Turn 50 \u2014 And They're Flying Combat Again<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\">MiG-31 Foxhound: The Mach 2.8 Interceptor That Refuses to Retire<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1977, Soviet test pilot Alexandr Fedotov zoom-climbed a MiG-25 to 123,523 feet \u2014 an absolute jet altitude record that still stands today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2137038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2137473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - 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