Soviet pilot Lt. Victor Belenko, taking off from Sakharovka AB near Vladivostok, lands his MiG-25 (NATO reporting name “Foxbat”) interceptor at the Hakodate Airport in northern Japan and asks for political asylum. He is flown to the US two days later. The defection provides an intelligence bonanza, as this gives the West its first detailed inspection of the Mach 3-capable fighter and a chance to debrief a front-line pilot. The aircraft is partially disassembled, flown to a Japanese Air Self Defense Force base near Tokyo on a US Air Force C-5 Galaxy, where it is then fully disassembled and inspected in detail. On Nov. 12, the MiG-25, in crates, is loaded on a Soviet freighter and returned.
USAFA Board Seeks More Cadets, New Facilities
Feb. 17, 2026
The U.S. Air Force Academy needs to grow its cadet corps by 10 percent and build a “home” for the U.S. Space Force in lieu of an entirely new service academy, a congressionally mandated oversight committee wrote in a new report, along with a slew of other recommendations.
