"Escape From Iron Curtain"

___________ Red Hawk

Military pilots have used aircrafts to defect to other countries ever since they were invented. Upon Russia's “Special Operation” in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military pledged prizes to Russian military pilots defecting Russia and handover their aircraft to Ukraine. No known incident Russian bait-taking is available and the prospect of defection isn’t as positive as it was initially expected. Multiple pilots have defected throughout Russian (or, rather, Soviet/ USSR) history – for whom, these were exceptional chances to get through the Iron Curtain and seek their cherished freedom and prosperity. For the West these were prospects to study the latest developments in Soviet military know-how. The first aircraft hijackings in the USSR took place even before the foundation of the very USSR. The exact details of USSR military  pilot defections is still unknown, since not all were made public – even by the Western and other foreign press. The defections that were made public were reasoned with factors like shortage of fuel, navigational errors or technical malfunctions. Nevertheless, there were exceptions which even the USSR had to publicly admit. The Soviet responses to such defections were pressuring the governments of the countries hosting the fugitive pilots. The Soviet effort was undertaken not so much to return the equipment, but to communicate the inevitability of dire consequences to frighten potential future defectors. In the Soviet Union, the deserter pilots were declared “enemies of the people,” and details about their escapes were carefully masked. Nevertheless, there were incidents that even Soviet propaganda could not remain quiet. We here at the “Infinidea (www.infinidea.info) will try to explore such breathtaking incidents.

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VICTOR BELENKO AND HIS MiG-25 DEFECTION SAGA

‘I Am the Luckiest Man Alive’ ….. Victor Belenko

Certain incidents leave long lasting impacts on geo-strategic issues. The defection of Soviet fighter pilot Victor Belenko from Russia to Japan and subsequently to the US was one of those. The West first became aware of the mysterious MiG-25 in around 1970. Spy satellites stalking Soviet airfields picked up a new kind of aircraft being secretly tested. The fighter looked enormous. The Western militaries were particularly concerned with one particular feature - a huge pair of wings. A large wing area is essential in a fighter aircraft – helping it to generate lift and also decreasing the extent of weight distributed across the wing, making it more nimble and easier to turn. This new Soviet jet seemed to combine this ability with a pair of enormous engines. How fast was it? Would the US Air Force or other Western militaries keep up with it? Its blitzing glimpses were also visible in the Middle East. In March 1971, Israeli radars picked up a strange new aircraft that accelerated to Mach 3.2 – more than three times the speed of sound – and reached at an altitude of 63,000ft (nearly 20 kilometres). The Israelis, and US intelligence advisors, admitted seeing nothing like it before. Following a second sighting after few days, Israeli fighters made futile scramble efforts to intercept the aircraft but couldn’t even come close. In November, the Israelis ambushed one of these mysterious intruders, firing missiles head on from 30,000ft below. It was a futile repetition of efforts. Their unidentified target streaked past at nearly three times the speed of sound – so fast, that the jet was already out of the danger zone by the time the Israeli missiles exploded. What the US satellites had seen, and the Israeli radars had tracked, were variants of the same aircraft – the MiG-25, built as a response to a series of US aircrafts poised to enter service in the 1960s – from the F-108 Fighter Aircraft to the SR-71 Blackbird Spy aircraft and the massive B-70 Bomber . These aircraft one common trait – ability to fly at three times the speed of sound.

The Story Begins

On a clear late summer day in 1976, an aircraft popped up just off the coast of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It was flying a mere 100 feet off the water, low enough to avoid detection. Now, suddenly, it climbed up to 20,000 feet. Due to the absence of 3D Radar at that time, it wasn’t really clear what the aircraft was or its actual intentions. But clearly, the pilot wanted to be seen. The Japs were spellbound – not truly used to seeing a Soviet Fighter trying to catch up attention. Something was wrong – which turned out to be right subsequently.

This story is about the unbelievable escape of Victor Belenko from behind the Iron Curtain to the free air of the West. These days, very few remember him, let alone the details surrounding his bumpy ride to freedom to the West. Belenko had been a respected pilot with the erstwhile Soviet Air Defence Forces. By 1976, he was secretly aspiring to leave his Fatherland. At the time, he was based near Vladivostok, as part of the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, at the Chuguyevka Airbase. It’s worth mentioning that the Soviet Air Defence Forces were a separate aerial branch from the Soviet Air Force, and its members were considered an highly elite and trusted band. As such, Belenko, too, was naturally trusted – which he desperately dared to breach because of obvious contemporary circumstances. So much so, that when his blood pressure was raised than usual, on the morning he planned to escape, the flight surgeon believed Belenko when he said he wasn’t nervous about anything, and that his BP was high because of the morning physical exercise he undertook.

Lieutenant Victor Belenko

In 1976, the Cold War was simmering between the United States and the Soviet Union leading to a frantic arms race and the polarization of the world between the capitalist and socialist blocs. But exactly 49 years ago, the very incident of desertion of a young pilot with a modern fighter jet rocked history and brought animosity between the USSR with the USA and its Pacific Ally Japan to a very different height. The then much vaunted MiG-25 Foxbat, until today, remains one of the fastest fighters in history, capable of surpassing 3100 km/h, despite its certain limitations, and feared at that time, until exposed by Belenko. Its appearance was one of the alleged principal motivators for the designing of the F-15 Eagle, which ended up defeating it in combat years later. 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. Furthermore, his wife Lyudmila was unhappy with her marriage and life as a military lady. The Chuguyevka air base, where Belenko was stationed, had poor infrastructure, which kept the morale of the local troops low. The post-defection Soviet investigation also unearthed the facts that he started behaving strange around July 1976. He displayed nervousness and agitation, and was seriously distressed about the delay in his promotion to the rank of Captain and the appointment as Squadron Chief of Staff – an appointment he was earlier promised. All these started adding up to his discontent.

These reasons were enough for then Lieutenant Belenko to plan his escape to the West, specifically Japan. In the Far East, Viktor Belenko’s previous clearance to fly near Japan was an bonus incentive for his secret personal mission, and sealed the MiG-25P's fate to take Belenko across the Iron Curtain. His plan was put into effect on September 06, 1976, when he took off his new MiG-25P on a training mission as part of a four-plane flight. At 6:45 a.m. on September 6, 1976, he took off from Sokolovka airfield for a flight exercise. Belenko very well knew to evade radar detection – by flying as low as possible. After falling behind the lead pair, Belenko started descending and continued an altitude to ensure avoid detection by both Soviet and Japanese air defense. At one point, Belenko faked a breakdown in his fighter and started to descend and continued at 30 – 50 meters. His wingmen 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 MiG-25P approaching at high speed from USSR territory. At 7:40, Belenko crossed the Soviet-Japanese border. After entering Japanese airspace, Belenko thrusted to 6,000 meters and was easily detected by Japanese radars, which otherwise he wanted. The Japs were not able to communicate with the Soviet pilot, as the MiG-25P’s radio was set to a different frequency. A pair of Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-4EJ Fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft, which never happened. At the same time the ground radars could not keep up with the MiG-25 flying low and fast, while the F-4J's onboard radars did not have a good top-down tracking capability (look-down, shoot-down). Belenko planned for Chitose Airbase, but was forced to land at the nearest airfield, Hakodate in Hokkaido instead, due to fuel shortage and bad weather.

Due to the airport’s short runway, Belenko could not help crossing the runway and neared the boundary of the airport. He got out of the cockpit and fired two warning shots from his pistol as motorists on a nearby highway took quick-snaps of the unbelievable episode, which just started to unfold.

Belenko Overshot The Runway at Hakodate Airfield

Three days after fleeing, Belenko was sent to the US under huge protests from the USSR. While the CIA was trying to get him to speak English, the diplomats were solving the plane's problem: buying time to study the technical details of the aircraft as much as possible. Two months later, the plane was packaged and returned to the USSR, infuriating the Soviets who alleged 10 to 20 parts of the aircraft were missing. Interestingly, while the Russians charged millions for damage to the aircraft, the Japanese sent a fine of around 40 US Dollars to Moscow for damages at Hakodate airport, further adding salt to the wound.

Dissected and Packaged MiG-25 of Belenko

The collected data showed that the MiG-25 was not at all what the West imagined. Despite being fast, it was not a maneuverable dogfighter, and solely an interceptor. It was to get to the target, shoot it down and return to base at the earliest.

Unlike other defectors, Belenko detested reuniting with his family. He disregarded appeals made by Soviet intelligence agencies and his relatives to return to Soviet Union with promises of being pardoned. He even said that he hated his wife, discredited his relationship with his stepmother as cold, and even said that his last live memory of his three-year-old son Dmitry was before his mother-in-law took him away to “take charge of his upbringing.”

Press Conference by Belenko's Family Flanked by Soviet Intelligence Officials

Belenko told the US that he was ready to cooperate, but he wished to visit an American airbase and an aircraft carrier, which were soon fulfilled. In late 1976, he visited the US Air Force base in Langley. There, his shock and amazement surpassed limits. Here Belenko was shown practicing piloting skills in a flight simulator. According to him, in the Soviet Union, flight simulators were there not to train pilots practically, but just to create the appearance of training.

Belenko visited the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, at the Norfolk Naval Base in January 1977. According to Rear Admiral Roger Box, Chief of the Fighter Bomber Course, Belenko was so captivated at the sight of aircrafts taking off and landing, together with the coordinated work of maintenance personnel on the deck of the aircraft carrier, that he simply declined an offer to go down to his cabin for the night and decided to spend the night directly on deck, observing the night flight process. As he left the ship, he admitted that initially he suspected that the whole thing had been set up especially just for him. However, after watching the planes take off and land throughout the day and night, he decided that it would have been too intricate to organize such display just to impress him.

Belenko's escape led to huge alterations within the USSR itself. All single, divorced and other “morally unstable” and “promiscuous” pilots were barred from flying, and were instead transferred to other positions not connected to manning aircrafts. Commanders were instructed to identify such pilots and remove them from flying, and hand over potential suspects to the authorities without hesitancy. Also in the USSR, the deviations in the actions of the party and official elite, which by that time had become systematic and widespread, were examined and uncovered. Senior officers of the Soviet Air Defense Forces, held accountable for Belenko’s escape, were reprimanded and penalized.

In USA, in 1980, the US Congress legislated S. 2961, granting Belenko citizenship, which was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on 14 October 1980, as Private Law  96-62. He later became an aerospace engineer, married an American and continued in the market acting as a consultant. Belenko’s life further transformed from being a Soviet military pilot to a consultant and public speaker in America. He was sentenced for treason in absentia by the Supreme Court of the USSR and sentenced to death. The penalty was removed after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Belenko even visited the new Russia in 1995 on business trip.

Can we foretell any repetition of the MiG-25 with the SU-35 or even the SU-57 – since, at the outset of the recent Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian pilots were allured by the Ukrainian Government to defect and handover their military aircrafts to Ukrainian Forces. Though no such Western replications incidents are known, however, of late, the Chinese are known to be hiring retired Western military pilots to train PLA Air Force (PLAAF).

Strategic Outcome

·         MiG-25’s instruments, including the giant radar, were considered functional but rudimentary. And the gigantic twin Tumansky R-15 engines could only be used at highest thrust for short period. More so, after evaluating the aircraft, American technical experts came to the conclusion that the MiG-25 was incapable to intercept American high-altitude SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft and was inferior to it in terms of technical characteristics. It’s claimed speed parameters were dismissed as a propaganda gimmick to increase its export potential as “the second fastest aircraft on the planet.” It is also alleged that the US military and political leadership did not sanction SR-71 reconnaissance over flights through Soviet territory until 1976, as they were unsure that the USSR had no equivalent interceptors. Belenko's defection enabled the US to examine the MiG-25 thoroughly analyse its capabilities. This allowed the US military and political leadership authorizing SR-71 flights over Soviet territory. The SR-71's overflights over the Soviet Union, with its unmatched speed and altitude, revolutionized strategic reconnaissance by providing detailed and timely intelligence, surpassing the capabilities of previous methods. It forced the Soviets to invest heavily in countermeasures and immensely increased US, vis-à-vis, NATO intelligence gathering capacities which would diffuse any potential surprise Soviet / Warsaw Pact offensive against NATO / Mainland Europe. 

SR-71 Blackbird

·         In the US, Belenko revealed everything he knew about the USSR's combat tactics and exposed countless secrets. He participated in training programs such as the US Navy's TOP GUN course at Miramar Naval Air Station, where he has even flown as an instructor.

·         It would be prejudicial to argue that the significances of Belenko's defection completely went negative for the USSR. Incidentally, the incident kind of fast-tracked the adoption of a new aircraft model, the MiG-31 (Foxhound, aka, Airking). The MiG-25 was then exported to other socialist countries until it became totally obsolete.

MiG-31 Foxhound/ Air-king

·         The F-15 and MiG-25 were considered as direct rivals, with the F-15 being developed in response to the MiG-25. The technical revelations and perceived capabilities of the Soviet MiG-25 "Foxbat" interceptor significantly influenced the design and development of the then US McDonnell Douglas F-15 "Eagle" fighter, as the F-15 was largely conceived as a counter to the MiG-25. The F-15's design incorporated technical features to counter the MiG-25's strengths, such as its high speed and radar-guided missile capabilities.  The two aircraft even came close to clashing in the Middle East, where MiG-25 patrols were deployed to deter Israeli airstrikes. 

F-15 Strike Eagle

VICTOR BRLENKO DEFECTION WITH MiG-25

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Tasnia Tasnim Hossain is an International Relations (IR) Student at the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is also a multiple award winner of “Model United Nations (MUN)” competition sessions.