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My memory is that the Mig-25 was the response to the B-70 threat. I'll agree with you that the F-4 was already in the field long before the 1973 Arab Israeli war where we first saw the MiG-25 operationally, although we did know of it's existence from a Mayday appearance prior to that. We did know that the IAF tried to intercept a -25 with F-4s.

My recollection of talking with MacDac design engineers about what features the F-15 needed was in 1972-1973. Not once was Mach-3 ever discussed. We knew by then, that most turn and burn fighting was done subsonically and most of that within gun range. We wanted low wing loading and high turn and slew rates.

Sparrows were useless in that quarter (useless overall as a matter of fact) and sidewinders and guns were the weapons of choice. Neither would have been a threat to the Mig-25. There were some discussions of an intercepter version of the F-15 with either the Falcon or the Phoenix systems but they died at birth.

Funny thing about the MiG-25 the Israelis tried to intercept. The Russians were providing reconnaissance with it at that time. According to Belenko, upon his defection, said the following in the book MiG Pilot. Excerpt below:

The data Belenko supplied in response to the first quick queries also seemed surprising and, at first, contradictory.

What is the maximum speed of the MiG-25?

You cannot safely exceed Mach 2.8, but actually we were forbidden to exceed Mach 2.5. You see, at high speeds the engines have a very strong tendency to accelerate out of control, and if they go above Mach 2.8, they will overheat and burn up.

But we have tracked the MiG-25 at Mach 3.2. Yes, and every time it has flown that fast the engines have been completely ruined and had to be replaced and the pilot was lucky to land in one piece. (That fitted with intelligence the Americans had. They knew that the MiG-25 clocked over Israel at Mach 3.2 in 1973 had landed back in Egypt with its engines totally wrecked. They did not understand that the wreckage was inevitable rather than a freakish occurrence.)

I read this as a kid and loved it. Here's a link to the entire book:

http://www.testpilot.ru/review/mig_pilot/index_e.htm

It's all interesting, but Chapter 7 deals with the most technical aspects of the Foxbat.

You're correct about the Foxbat being designed to counter the Valkyrie. However, it would not have been capable of doing the job, according to Belenko:

What is the maximum altitude of your missiles?

They will not work above 27,000 meters [88,580 feet].

Then you cannot intercept the SR-71 [the most modern U.S. reconnaissance plane]!

True; for all sorts of reasons. First of all, the SR-71 flies too high and too fast. The MiG-25 cannot reach it or catch it. Secondly, as I told you, the missiles are useless above 27,000 meters, and as you know, the SR-71 cruises much higher. But even if we could reach it, our missiles lack the velocity to overtake the SR-71 if they are fired in a tail chase. And if they are fired head-on, their guidance systems cannot adjust quickly enough to the high closing speed.

The B-70 flew at the same speed as the SR-71 [Fastest Speed: 2,020 mph (3,250 km/h) (on 12 January 1966)] , but within the altitude of the Russian missile envelope. But, as he said, they were not fast enough to catch it or sophisticated enough to adjust head on. We were bluffed out of pursuing one of the more interesting concepts in the Cold War.