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

The MiG-25, known to NATO as “Foxbat,” had been built in secret, and it more or less remained a secret, as no Western power was able to get near it to study it. That was until a young Soviet by the name of Viktor Belenko (1947–2023) chose to defect.

A Disillusioned Flyer

Belenko was born shortly after World War II and at the start of the Cold War. He was born in poverty, a poster boy of what the Soviets heralded as the “proletariat.” More importantly, he loved aviation. He joined the military and quickly rose through the ranks, showcasing immense talent.

He became a flight instructor at the Armavir Military Aviation School of Pilots, where he flew the supersonic interceptor Sukhoi Su-15, which had entered service in 1965. The young fighter pilot and instructor soon joined an elite group. He became a member of the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, which was part of the Soviet Air Defense Forces, separate from the Soviet Air Force. Its primary objective was to protect the Russian homeland from attack.

Former Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko’s military identity document. CIA Museum. Public Domain

Belenko was stationed at the air base in Chuguyevka in eastern Russia, near the Sea of Japan. By this time, Belenko had become disillusioned with communism and the Soviet Union. As a member of an elite air group, however, he was nonetheless dead center in the Cold War struggle between communism and democracy. His hope for defection and putting the Soviet Union in a vulnerable position militarily came when he was presented the opportunity to train in the MiG-25.

Labor Day Defection

In America, and other Western-allied countries, there were only rumors about the capabilities of MiG-25, but they all seemed to point at a supersonic jet that superseded the West’s aerial technology. In 1971, the Israelis had encountered a jet that reached Mach 3.2—more than three times the speed of sound. The Israelis attempted to ambush the jet during its next encounter, but its scrambled jets were no match. Even its surface-to-air missiles were not fast enough to catch what was presumed to be the MiG-25.

The disillusioned fighter pilot made his plans to defect with one of the world’s fastest jets. On Labor Day, Sept. 6, 1976, Belenko and his squadron climbed into their MiG-25s. Shortly after takeoff, Belenko separated from the group, citing engine problems. He then dropped to approximately 100 feet above the surface of the Sea of Japan in order to avoid radar.

His plan had been to land his jet at a military base. When he soared from 100 feet to 20,000 feet, making himself noticeable via radar, Japanese fighters were scrambled. His attempt to land at the civilian Hakodate Airport in Hokkaido nearly resulted in disaster. He had to circle back around the landing strip in order to avoid a Boeing 727.

When Belenko finally landed, he overran the runway, below out a tire, and nearly crashed into a large antenna. That, however, was the least of Belenko’s concerns. He was defecting, and he needed asylum.

An ‘Intelligence Bonanza’

As Nicholas Platt, a U.S. foreign diplomat in Tokyo at the time, recalled, “The Soviet pilot, brandishing a pistol from his cockpit, requested political asylum in the United States. … [I] sent to the State Department an immediate request for defector status for the pilot.”

Belenko was taken into custody. The Japanese, in order to stall against the demands for the release of the pilot by the Soviets, charged him with crossing the border illegally. The primary concern for the Japanese government, being in such close proximity to Soviet Russia, was returning the plane.

“The Japanese, deathly frightened of the Soviets, wanted to return the aircraft to the USSR at the same time they released the pilot to us,” Platt remembered. “They maintained that they had no power to hold the plane. … We needed a long, careful look at the Foxbat. No one in the NATO Alliance had seen this most advanced fighter in the Soviet arsenal up close.”

A long look was exactly what the Americans received. CIA Director George H.W. Bush called the event an “intelligence bonanza.” The Americans and Japanese disassembled the plane. It was indeed an “intelligence bonanza,” but more for what the jet wasn’t than for what it was.

The Truth About the Foxbat

The Americans learned that the feared MiG-25 possessed two Tumansky R-15B-300 turbojets with afterburners, which made it capable of Mach 2.83 (not 3.2). Its body was made of stainless steel, which ensured it could endure the heat from such speeds. The material, however, also made it a nightmare for fuel usage, making flight longevity much shorter than its American counterparts. Though his jet did not have its missiles, Belenko did provide the flight manual, which he'd snuck into the jet before takeoff.

According to the Sept. 24 Special Equipment Exploitation Report conducted by the Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that the Foxbat “revealed no surprising technological advancements” despite Belenko’s jet only recently being built. Ultimately, the DIA reported that “the MiG-25 is just a larger and faster MiG-21.”

The MiG-25 was not as powerful and frightening as what American intelligence had anticipated. It must have been a sigh of relief to know that the Soviets were in fact not far ahead of American military grade technology, but were actually lagging. Relieving those fears were the result of the bravery of Belenko. Additionally, his bravery was undoubtedly motivated by the abysmal lifestyle inflicted by communism.

Belenko was given political asylum in the United States. In 1980, an act of Congress made Belenko an American citizen. The act was signed by President Jimmy Carter.

The stolen MiG-25 was sent back to the USSR. It arrived via ship in 30 crates.

Defection Inspirations

Full-scale MiG 31 Firefox model used in the film "Firefox" parked at Van Nuys Airport, Calif. in May 1982. Public Domain

Belenko got married in the United States and had two sons, Tom and Paul. Shortly after his defection, he told his story to American journalist and investigative writer John Barron. Belenko’s story, “MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko,” was published in 1980.

The 1977 film “Foxbat,” starring Henry Silva, was in part inspired by Belenko’s defection. The 1982 blockbuster, “Firefox,” starring Clint Eastwood, is often considered to be directly inspired by the 1976 events, but Craig Thomas, the author of the 1977 book, had written most of the book before Belenko’s defection. Though Thomas’s inspiration was actually the MiG-25 itself, he was able to make mention of the 1976 defection in the book before it went to print.

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