Viktor Belenko

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Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (Виктор Иванович Беленко), born (1947-02-15) February 15, 1947, is an American aerospace engineer and defector of Soviet origin.

Early life and defection

Belenko was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR in a Ukrainian family. Lieutenant Belenko was a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, Soviet Air Defence Forces based in Chuguyevka, Primorsky Krai. His name became known worldwide on September 6, 1976, when he successfully defected to the West, flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet fighter to Hakodate, Japan. This was the first time that Western experts were able to get a close look at the aircraft, and it revealed many secrets and surprises. His defection caused a lot of damage to the Soviet Union Air Force.[1] Belenko was granted asylum by U.S. President Gerald Ford, and a trust fund was set up for him, granting him a very comfortable living in later years. The U.S. Government interrogated and debriefed him for five months after his defection, and employed him as a consultant for several years thereafter. Belenko had brought with him the pilot's manual for the MiG-25 "Foxbat", expecting to assist American pilots in evaluating and testing the aircraft.

Belenko was not the only pilot to have defected from the USSR in this way, nor was he the first such to defect from a Soviet-bloc country. In March and May 1953, two Polish Air Force pilots flew MiG-15s to Denmark. Later in 1953, North Korean pilot No Kum Sok flew his MiG-15 to an American air base in South Korea; this MiG is on permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. Captain Alexander Zuyev flew his MiG-29 to Trabzon, Turkey on May 20, 1989.

Post-defection life in the United States

In 1980, the U.S. Congress enacted S. 2961, authorizing citizenship for Belenko. It was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 14, 1980, as Private Law 96-62.[2][3]

While residing in the United States, Belenko married a music teacher from North Dakota and had two children. However, he later divorced. He also has a son from his first marriage. Belenko has never divorced his Russian wife.[4] After the breakup of the Soviet Union, he visited Moscow in 1995 by the way of business.[5]

Aftermath

The MiG-25 arrival in Japan was a windfall for Western military planners. The Japanese government originally only allowed the U.S. to examine the plane and do ground tests of the radar and engines; however, later the Japanese invited the Americans to examine the plane extensively, and it was dismantled for this purpose in Japan.[6] The plane was moved by US transport aircraft from Hakodate to Hyakuri Air Base on September 25, and by this time experts had determined that the plane was an interceptor, not a fighter-bomber, which was a welcome reassurance for Japanese defense.[7]

The Japanese government laid out a plan on October 2 to return the aircraft in crates from the port of Hitachi and bill the Soviets $40,000 for crating services and airfield damage at Hakodate.[8] The Soviets unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a return via Antonov An-22 aircraft and attempted to organize a rigorous inspection of the crates, but Japan refused both demands and the Soviets finally submitted to the Japanese terms on October 22.[9] The aircraft was moved from Hyakuri to the port of Hitachi on 11 November on a convoy of trailers. It left in 30 crates aboard the Russian cargo ship Taigonos on 15 November 1976 and arrived about three days later in Vladivostok[10] A team of Soviet technicians had been allowed to view subassemblies at Hitachi Japan, and upon finding 20 missing parts,[11] with one of the missing items being film of the flight to Hakodate[10] the Soviets attempted to bill Japan for $10 million. Neither the Japanese or Soviet bill is thought to have ever been paid.[8]

A senior diplomat described the Soviet position as "sulky about the whole affair"[12] CIA analysis said "both countries seem anxious to put the problem behind them" and speculated that the Soviets were reluctant to cancel a series of upcoming diplomatic visits because "some useful business is likely to be transacted, and because the USSR, with its political standing in Tokyo so low, can ill afford setbacks in Soviet—Japanese economic cooperation."[13]

In the Soviet Union, as a result of Belenko's defection, fuel was limited for fighters on Sakhalin bases, which required Maj. Gennady Osipovich, the pilot of the Su-15 interceptor that downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007, to return to base almost immediately after the attack.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ (Russian) Предатель - Беленко Виктор Иванович.
  2. ↑ 96th Cong. S.2961, A bill for the relief of Viktor Ivanovich Belenko, Bill Summary and Status.
  3. ↑ An act for the relief of Viktor Ivanovich Belenko, 94 Stat. 3599. GPO's Federal Digital System.
  4. ↑ (Russian)
  5. ↑ (Russian) Vladivostok News: 25 лет назад советский военный летчик лейтенант Виктор Беленко угнал новейший истребитель "Миг-25" с приморской авиабазы в Соколовке в Японию.
  6. ↑ New York Times, Sept. 22, 1976, column 4.
  7. ↑ UNCLAS State Message 239736, U.S. State Department, 27 September 1976.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 MiG Pilot: the Final Escape of Lt. Belenko, John Barron, 1980, ISBN 0-380-53868-7.
  9. ↑ JAPAN-SOVIET RELATIONS: NEGOTIATIONS FOR RETURN OF MIG-25, TOKYO 15888 221325Z (Confidential), U.S. State Department, 22 October 1976.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Flight International, , 27 November 1976, p. 1546.
  11. ↑ SHARING MIG 25 INFORMATION WITH THIRD COUNTRIES, TOKYO 220903Z NOV 76 (Secret), U.S. State Department, 22 November 1976.
  12. ↑ JAPAN-SOVIET RELATIONS: NEGOTIATIONS FOR RETURN OF MIG-25, TOKYO 16354 021113Z (Confidential), U.S. State Department, 2 November 1976.
  13. ↑ NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DAILY CABLE, Monday November 8, 1976 (Top Secret), Central Intelligence Agency, 1976.

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