But today was different.
Russian Air Force MiG-25PU.
Belenko sat motionless feigning attention while his mind raced contemplating his personal flight plan.
Belenko worried whether his body would betray him.
I’m probably still a little winded.
Viktor Belenkos Military Identity Document.
Photo:CIA/Wikimedia Commons
The MiG-25 was the Soviets newest aircraft and a closely guarded secret.
Its radars were so powerful that they could kill a rabbit at a thousand meters.
The air high up was so thin that the engine flame died out.
Steel was also easier to work with and could be welded by hand.
In reality they were simply meant to keep its heavy airframe in the air.
The Soviets were so secretive that each MiG-25 was equipped with a self-destruct button.
Viktor Belenkos knee-pad notebook with flight data and a military identity document.
Photo:CIA/Wikimedia Commons
Belenko climbed a fourteen-foot metal ladder and settled into the green cockpit.
To conserve fuel, needed for the 400-mile-trip to Japan, Belenko switched off the afterburners prematurely.
Belenko thundered through the valley and in two minutes shot out over the Sea of Japan.
Anyone listening to the distress frequency would have assumed that Belenko had crashed.
To evade detection by Soviet radar, Belenko had to fly low.
Twice he had to swerve to avoid hitting fishing vessels.
Only when he perceived that the waves were also getting higher did he climb to 150 feet.
Risking detection Belenko was forced to climb up into the clouds.
Belenko hoped he would be intercepted by Japanese Phantom fighters and be escorted to a safe landing field.
Many Russians tried to get to the plane, but Japanese officials shooed them away.
The MiG-25 Viktor Belenko defected with at the Hakodate airport.
The CIA couldnt believe their luck.
The plane was soon dismantled and exhaustively examined.
Flying at Mach 3 for more than a few minutes would disintegrate the engines.
MiG-25 pilots were warned never to exceed Mach 2.8.
Its huge engines consumed so much fuel that the airplanes combat range was ridiculously low at only 299 kilometers.
Even at subsonic speeds, its cruising range was too low to be an effective combat aircraft.
The on-board electronics were based on vacuum-tube technology, representing an aging technology.
They also charged the Union $40,000 in shipping cost, which the Soviets never paid.
But it was not the end of the story for MiG-25.
Despite its shortcomings, the Soviets built more than a thousand MiG-25s.
Meanwhile Viktor Belenko received a warm welcome in America.
He was convinced the CIA had put up a show for him.
But where are the people, the crowds, the lines?
Viktor Belenko eventually became an American citizen in 1980.
He married a music teacher from North Dakota, Coral, and fathered two sons.
He reportedly works as an aerospace engineer.
