A Soviet pilot defected to the United States. Did it help the emerging economic and military superpower in any way? Were future USAF and US Navy aircraft inspired by the Foxbat?
Lieutenant Viktor Belenko with very low fuel landed his MiG-25 at Hakodate Airport in northern Japan, running off the end of the short runway. His defection to the West allowed the United States to closely examine the MiG-25. The aircraft was completely dismantled and then carefully inspected by aviation scientists and engineers from both Japan and the United States. President Ford granted Belenko asylum in the United States and the pilot underwent five months of questioning and interrogation. The United States Government established a Trust Fund for him and the interest alone afforded Belenko a very comfortable living in the U.S. He was a free man, at last, to do as he pleased.
Upon dismantling the MiG-25, the data was analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division of the Air Force at Dayton, Ohio. There were many surprises:
The Mig had been manufactured in February 1976 and thus was one of their latest most sophisticated production aircraft.
Transistor circuitry was not used but instead the Soviets relied on vacuum tubes for most of their electronics. The Soviets reasoned that the vacuum tubes were less affected by EMP waves in the case of nuclear attack; were more resistant to temperature extremes and they were easy to replace in remote airfields where transistors may not be readily available if repairs were needed.
Welding was done by hand.
Rivet heads were exposed in areas not critical to parasitic aerodynamic drag.
Pilot’s forward vision was highly obstructed.
With huge Tumansky R-15D-300 engines the MiG was considered almost a rocket.
Pilots were forbidden to exceed Mach 2.5.
There was a total of three engine instruments and the airspeed indicator was redlined at 2.8 Mach.
Above Mach 2.8 the engines would overheat and burn up. The Americans had clocked a MiG-25 over Israel at Mach 3.2 in 1973. Upon landing in Egypt, the engines were destroyed. We did not understand that the engine destruction was inevitable.
The combat radius is 186 miles.
Without using afterburner; staying at optimum altitude and not maneuvering, the Mig can fly in a straight line for 744 miles.
The plane was so heavy at 64,200 pounds, that according to early rumors, Soviet designers had to eliminate a pilot ejection system. However, this was disproved. Most MiG-25s used the KM-1 ejector seat. The last versions used an early variant of the famous K-36 seat. The speed record for the fastest successful ejection (Mach 2.67) is held by a KM-1-equipped MiG-25.
Maximum operational altitude: Carrying two missiles, 78,740 feet (for a maximum two-minute duration); carrying four missiles, 68,900 feet is maximum.
Maximum altitude of missiles: 88,588 feet.
Maximum G load: With full fuel tanks 2.2 G’s is max; with near-empty fuel tanks, 5 G’s is dangerous. The MiG-25 cannot turn inside a U.S. F-4 Phantom fighter!
The plane was made of steel alloy, not high-temperature titanium, although strips of titanium were used in areas of high heat concentration.
In a tight turn, the missiles could be ripped from the wings.
Belenko states the MiG-25 cannot intercept the SR-71 for several reasons: The SR-71 flies too high and too fast; the MiG cannot reach it or catch it.
The missiles lack the velocity to overtake the SR-71 and in the event of a head-on missile fire (The Golden BB), the Guidance system cannot adjust to the high closure rate of the SR-71.
The MiG-25 has a jam-proof radar but cannot distinguish targets below 1,640 feet due to ground clutter. The radar was so powerful that it could burn through jamming signals by approaching bombers.
The MiG-25 was not a fighter or an air superiority aircraft but rather designed by the Soviets to climb at tremendous speeds, fire missiles at one pass of the target, and then land.
Search and tracking radar had a range of 55.9 miles. The pilot’s duties were to take off, turn on the autopilot, and await instructions to fire the missiles from ground controllers. The Mig-25 had a superb auto pilot and digital communications from an onboard computer to ground controllers. Credit is given to the Soviets for building a high altitude Interceptor in a short period of time with the materials and engines available to them in 1967 in order to counter the perceived threat of the XB-70.
On November 12, 1976, sixty-seven days after the defection of Belenko and his Mig-25 to the West, the United States and Japan returned the Mig-25 to Russia…in dismantled pieces. I strongly recommend reading his book MiG Pilot, available on Amazon, even though the book is 30 years old.
Butch Sheffield was working at the Pentagon when the Foxbat appeared in Japan. Working for him at the Pentagon was Buck Adams former SR 71 pilot. Buck had figured out a way to interview Victor before anybody else could get to him and he did. SR 71 pilots are capable of doing anything.
