Belenko, a lieutenant of the Soviet Air Force. The pilot spent the night at a secret place on the outskirts of Hakodate. The MIG‐25 was heavily guarded throughout the night by the police.

When he brought his MiG-25 “Foxbat” to Hakodate he gave the Western intelligence officers the opportunity to give a first close look at one of the most secret airplanes of those years ...

When he brought his MiG-25 “Foxbat” to Hakodate he gave the Western intelligence officers the opportunity to give a first close look at one of the most secretive airplanes of those years ...

Landing at Hakodate airport, the MiG-25 was taken in for inspection while Belenko was granted asylum in the United States. What America found was that the MiG-25 was one of the heaviest ...

The MiG-25 Foxbat: How a Soviet Pilot’s Defection ... he eventually located the civilian Hakodate Airport. As he lined his aircraft up for landing, Belenko faced one final challenge: a departing ...

Hakodate’s airport suddenly became a hive of intelligence activity. The CIA was scarcely able to believe its luck. iStock The MiG-25 helped spur the development of the F-15, which still flies in ...

On that day in fact Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a Soviet MiG-25 pilot, successfully defected to the West, flying his Foxbat to Hakodate, Japan. The U.S. Government debriefed him for five months ...

The aircraft flew toward the south-western port city of Hakodate. It circled the airport ... a supersonic interceptor called an MiG-25. The plane had stoked fear among Western militaries for ...

Getty Images A MiG-25 flying in 1987. The fact that the Foxbat ... Belenko spotted a civil airport near the city of Hakodate and lined up for landing, narrowly missing a Boeing 727 passenger ...

When pilot Viktor Belenko defected, he did so in a mysterious Soviet plane – the MiG-25. Stephen Dowling looks at its far-reaching impact.