There is something you must understand about the Soviet system.

There is something you must understand about the Soviet system. They have the
ability to concentrate all their efforts on a given design, and develop all
components simultaneously, but sometimes without proper testing.
Then they end up with a technological disaster like the Tu-144.
In a technology race at the time, that aircraft was two months ahead of the
Concorde. Four Tu-144s were built; two have crashed, and two are in museums.
The Concorde has been flying safely for over 10 years.
-- Victor Belenko, MiG-25 fighter pilot who defected in 1976
-- "Defense Electronics", Vol 20, No. 6, pg. 100