In 1976, the Cold War was going strong with the United States and the Soviet Union leading a frantic arms race and the polarization of the world between the capitalist and socialist blocs. But exactly 46 years ago, the desertion of a young pilot with a modern fighter jet entered history and brought animosity between Japan, the USA and the USSR.
Lieutenant Viktor Belenko was 29 years old and a pilot in the 513th Fighter Regiment of the Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO). The unit employed the most powerful fighter aircraft in the USSR's arsenal, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, called the Foxbat by NATO.
The aircraft had entered service six years earlier, and in the Western world, little was known about it. In fact, the MiG-25 was feared, surrounded by myths and assumptions that it was a very modern and extremely agile fighter, which was later proven to be false.
On the other hand, the Foxbat is, until today, one of the fastest fighters in history, capable of exceeding 3100 km/h, even with certain limitations. His appearance was one of the main motivators for the creation of the F-15 Eagle, which ended up defeating him in combat years later.
But back to Belenko. The young aviator was not thrilled with his reality. Even though he was chosen to fly the MiG-25, he was unhappy with life inside the Iron Curtain.
In addition, his wife Lyudmila was unhappy with her marriage and life as a military woman. The Chuguyevka air base, where he served, also had poor infrastructure, which reduced the morale of the local troops.
These reasons were enough for then Lieutenant Belenko to plan his escape to the West, specifically Japan. His plan was put into effect on September 06, 1976, when he took off his new MiG-25 on a training flight as part of a four-plane flight.
At one point, Belenko faked a breakdown in his fighter and started to descend. His wings believed he had collided with the ground, but Belenko was flying low, with the MiG's huge nose pointed towards Japan. His objective was to land at Chitose Air Base on the island of Hokkaido.
Japanese radar detected the plane approaching at high speed from USSR territory. A pair of Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-4EJ fighters were called in to intercept the aircraft, which never happened.
At the same time that the ground radars could not keep up with the MiG-25 flying low and fast, the F-4's onboard radars did not have a good top-down tracking capability (look-down, shoot-down). ).
In addition to these factors, the weather was bad, which hindered Belenko in his search for the Chitose base. Running low on fuel, Belenko spotted an airport and decided that was an option. It was the civil airport of Hakodate, south of the island of Hokkaido.
He flew over the site three times before approaching and touching the wheels of the huge twin-engine fighter on Japanese soil. Belenko applied the brakes and opened the braking chute, but the runway was too short for the MiG-25, which just stopped in the grass, almost colliding with a set of antennas.
The police were called in along with the armed forces, which isolated the area and closed the airport. The pilot was arrested and promptly requested political asylum from local authorities. Viktor Belenko's defection sparked a huge diplomatic incident between Moscow, Washington and Tokyo.
Three days after fleeing, Belenko was sent to the US under numerous protests from the USSR. While the CIA was trying to get him to speak English, the diplomats were solving the plane's problem: how to buy time to study the aircraft as much as possible and reduce the Soviets' spirits.
About 20 days after landing, the MiG was loaded onto a US Air Force C-5 Galaxy and flown to Hyakuri base, north of Tokyo, where it was disassembled and extensively examined by Japanese and US experts.
Two months later, the plane was boxed up and returned to its home country, infuriating the Soviets who said 10 to 20 parts of the aircraft were missing.
While the Russians charged millions for damage to the aircraft, the Japanese sent a fine of around $40 to Moscow for damages at Hakodate airport.
The collected data showed that the MiG-25 was not at all what the West imagined. Despite being fast, it was not a maneuverable fighter, being purely an interceptor: get to the target, shoot it down and return to base as quickly as possible.
Its instruments, including the giant radar, were considered functional but rudimentary. And the huge Tumansky R-15 engines could not be used at full power for a long time.
On American soil, Belenko told everything he knew about the USSR's combat tactics and revealed countless secrets. He has participated in training programs such as the US Navy's TOP GUN course, where he has even flown as an instructor. He became an aerospace engineer, married an American and continued in the market acting as a consultant.
