Theoretically, the MiG-31 -was- capable of shooting down a Blackbird... with a Nuclear-Armed Missile.
And the Russians were batshit enough to do exactly that, and damn the consequences. I mean, Sputnik was launched by an ICBM - a fact that the Russians not only left open, but actually touted as a 'take that!' to the USA.
So yeah. I can definitely believe that we didn't fly Blackbirds in areas MiG-31's were known to be deployed.
EDIT: Quirk between Blackbirds and Foxhounds
Unresolved Issues: It's not that they don't get along... but due to being former adversaries that never really discovered who was the better for certain, they have an icey respect for each other. Small performance gains while deployed together in the field have been reported, along with a marked decrease in the severity of adverse quirks that would normally be in play.
Blackrider's Notes: "It's obvious that there's a very cool game of one-upmanship going on. I really see no reason to worry - the girls seem to be enjoying their games, so let them enjoy them. Besides, any day we can get through a mission with fewer shenanigans than usual is a win - even as amusing as some of it can be, it's not when you're dodging flak fields at point-one-Cee."
And the Russians were batshit enough to do exactly that, and damn the consequences. I mean, Sputnik was launched by an ICBM - a fact that the Russians not only left open, but actually touted as a 'take that!' to the USA.
So yeah. I can definitely believe that we didn't fly Blackbirds in areas MiG-31's were known to be deployed.
EDIT: Quirk between Blackbirds and Foxhounds
Unresolved Issues: It's not that they don't get along... but due to being former adversaries that never really discovered who was the better for certain, they have an icey respect for each other. Small performance gains while deployed together in the field have been reported, along with a marked decrease in the severity of adverse quirks that would normally be in play.
Blackrider's Notes: "It's obvious that there's a very cool game of one-upmanship going on. I really see no reason to worry - the girls seem to be enjoying their games, so let them enjoy them. Besides, any day we can get through a mission with fewer shenanigans than usual is a win - even as amusing as some of it can be, it's not when you're dodging flak fields at point-one-Cee."