Viktor Belenko: The MiG-25 Defector

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ we meet a young Soviet fighter pilot whose defection to the U.S. would alter the course of the Cold War.

Former Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko's military ID. CIA Museum. Public Domain

In 1970 when the Soviet Union put the MiG-25 into service, it was in response to the Americans’ reconnaissance jets U-2 and SR-71. These two planes were capable of speeds and altitudes that exceeded anything the Soviets had. Even the B-58 Hustler was a supersonic bomber capable of matching the Soviets’ MiG-21 interceptor. Now, that was no longer the case. The MiG-25 was capable of supersonic speeds, reaching Mach 2.83. It could reach those once unattainable altitudes, and it was armed with radar and four air-to-air missiles. The Americans’ response was fear.

A Soviet MiG-25. Public Domain