The Soviet Pilot Who Flew to the West… in MiG-25

On September 6, 1976, Soviet Air Force pilot Viktor Belenko broke formation, flew his MiG-25 fighter jet across the Sea of Japan, and landed at a civilian airport in Japan, asking for asylum in the United States. He had just handed the West one of the Soviet Union’s most closely guarded military aircraft—and one of the great intelligence windfalls of the Cold War.

Fifty years later, Senate Square Society and The Remembrance Society revisit this extraordinary story with defense and military affairs writer Christian D. Orr. The discussion will explore Belenko’s escape, what Western intelligence learned from the MiG-25, and what the episode revealed about the strengths, weaknesses, secrecy, and mythology surrounding Soviet military power.

The conversation will also ask a question that remains highly relevant today: How accurately can the West judge the true military capabilities of a secretive authoritarian adversary? Belenko’s defection exposed the gap between the MiG-25’s fearsome reputation and its actual strengths and limitations—a lesson that still matters as Washington assesses Russia, China, and other closed military systems. 

Moderated by Hon. Don Ritter, former U.S. Congressman and Chairman of The Remembrance Society.

At each of our events you can expect a warm atmosphere, an ability to network as well as complimentary refreshments.
RSVP is recommended, and donations welcomed.

Senate Square Society, an organization that is opposed to the current Russian regime and fully supports Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.