Word: mig
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...that manner, 1st Lieut. Viktor Ivanovich Belenko, 29, last week pulled off one of the most daring escapes of the cold war. In the view of U.S. Air Force and intelligence experts, it was also one of the most significant; Belenko was flying the MIG-25, which has never been examined by Western specialists. Called "Foxbat" in the NATO code, it is the world's fastest weapons-carrying warplane, having attained a record speed* of 1,852.6 m.p.h. and a test altitude of 118,000 ft.-outrunning and outclimbing even the newest U.S. fighter planes. Thus a study...
Shortly after he took off last week on a Monday morning training mission, Belenko made his break. Somewhere near the Primorsky Kray coast, he suddenly put his MIG in a sharp dive, leveling out 150 ft. over the waves of the Sea of Japan, followed shortly afterward by Russian pilots in hot pursuit. After flying this low for a short distance to elude Soviet radar, he climbed back to 20,000 ft. for the dash to Japan; a jet gulps too much fuel at low altitudes...
Then, suddenly appearing over Hakodate, Belenko circled twice and touched down, two drag chutes popping from the MIG's tail for braking. Because of his tire blowout, Belenko was apparently unable to use the wheel brakes, and the MIG overran the runway, knocking down two short navigational antennas before coming to a stop...
After news came of the lieutenant's defection, the division quickly mustered a squad and flew it to Japan to study the MIG-25 and appraise its possibilities. For example, the squad will determine what the MIG-25 pilot can or cannot see from the cockpit. (In their first examination of a MIG-21, captured by Israel during the 1973 war, Air Force experts discovered that the pilot had limited rear vision and could not see anything directly above, a vital tip for an opponent in a dogfight...
...least as valuable as the plane. Apparently bright and willing, Belenko will be able to tell U.S. experts much about the selection, training and flying skills of Soviet pilots. He will also be able to provide invaluable information about Soviet air defenses in eastern Siberia and the MIG-25's strengths and weaknesses...