[0978-2300] THE FOXBAT FALLACY – Companion Dossier (PDF)

Description

For nearly a decade, Western intelligence viewed the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat as an unbeatable aerial titan. Credited with lightweight titanium construction, unmatchable Mach 3 dashes, and game-changing look-down radar, the mysterious interceptor forced the Pentagon into panic spending, dictating the development of the F-15 Eagle. Then, on September 6, 1976, Soviet Air Defence pilot Viktor Belenko shattered the illusion by landing his operational Foxbat at Hakodate Airport in northern Japan. The Companion Dossier provides an exhaustive documentary autopsy of this historic defection and the technical exploitation that followed. Assembled from declassified CIA and DIA files, photographic debriefs, and metallurgical assessments, this dossier tracks Belenko’s low-altitude escape beneath Soviet radar nets, the chaotic runway overrun in Hokkaido, and the clandestine US-Japanese joint teardown at Hyakuri Air Base. Readers will explore the forensic proof that debunked the titanium myth—revealing eighty percent nickel steel, crude vacuum-tube radar architecture, and gargantuan, thirsty Tumansky engines. Complete with annotated flight paths, intelligence cables, and cross-sectional technical schematics, this dossier is an indispensable archive of the Cold War’s most consequential intelligence windfall.