Lieutenant Viktor Ivanovich Belenko was a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment of the Soviet Air Defense Command based in Sakharovka, Siberia. He achieved worldwide fame on September 6th, 1976 when he defected to the west, flying his MiG 25 "Foxbat" to Hakodate, Japan. This was the first time the west was able to get a close look at the aircraft, and it revealed many secrets and surprises.

Belenko was granted asylum by then US President Gerald Ford, and a trust fund was set up for him, granting him a very comfortable living in later years. The US interrogated and questioned him for 5 months after his defection.

Belenko is now an aerospace consultant and lecturer.

External links

• MiG Pilot: the Final Escape of Lt. Belenko, by John Barron, 1980, ISBN 0-380-53868-7
• Information and excerpts from John Barron's book about Belenko (http://www.geocities.com/siafdu/viktor.html)
• 1996 interview with Belenko (http://209.197.94.171/people/belenko.htm)

fi:Viktor Ivanovitš Belenko