An interview with the REAL Lt Belenko.

[Lt Belenko]

This excerpt was taken from an interview with the REAL Lt Belenko.

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Q: Like what did you do, for example?

Belenko: First of all American super-market, my first visit was under CIA supervision, and I thought it was set-up; I did not believe super-market was real one. I thought well I was unusual guest; they probably kicked everyone out. It's such a nice, big place with incredible amount of produce, and no long lines! You're accustomed to long lines in Russia. But later, when I discovered super-market was real one, I had real fun exploring new products. I would buy, everyday, a new thing and try to figure out its function. In Russia at that time (and even today) it's hard to find canned food, good one. But everyday I would buy new cans with different food. Once I bought a can which said "dinner." I cooked it with potatoes, onions, and garlic-it was delicious. Next morning my friends ask me, "Viktor, did you buy a cat?" It was a can of chicken-based cat food. But it was delicious! It was better than canned food for people in Russia today. And I did test it. Last year I brought four people from Russia for commercial project, and I set them up. I bought nibble sized human food. I installed a pâté, and it was cat food. I put it on crackers. And they did consume it, and they liked it. So the taste has not changed. By the way, for those who are not familiar with American cat food. It's very safe; it's delicious, and sometimes it's better than human food, because of the Humane Society.

I bought a box of Freedom with the picture of nice looking lady. I did not know what it was. (I'm talking about maxi-pads.) I brought it to my apartment, I opened it, and I tried to figure it out. I thought well it's probably some cleaning device for the kitchen to give these American women freedom in the kitchen to clean up and absorb everything, because even today Russian women do not have this convenience.

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Sounds like Yackov Smirnoff helped his a little.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?43294-Interview-with-Lieutenant-Viktor-Ivanovich-Belenko

[dieseltaylor]

When I became U.S. citizen with American passport I travel around the world. My first trip was actually a business trip with U.S. Air Force. I went to England. I did not speak English when I came to U.S., and I learn American-English. When we went to England I thought well English is English. After my arrival I heard very strange English. It was British-English. I had very hard time to understand them. But the British do speak English. Customs are almost the same, except British cows give tea instead of milk. Also they're driving on the wrong side of the road! And they do serve warm beer; it's ridiculous. I noticed, after my experience in U.S., that there was not warm reception for you, as a stranger, when you walk into their pubs. Later I complain about that to my friends in Wyoming. And they said, "Viktor, Brits love cowboys." I said, "Really?" Next trip I had cowboy hat, cowboy boots. I show up in their pubs; they look at me with astoundment. "Are you cowboy?" I say, "Yup." My vocabulary was very limited: Yup and Nope. But I did notice that they accept American cowboy with respect. And not only in England, in Europe and other countries as well. So I do advise my friends, who are traveling abroad, wear cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and act as a cowboy. American cowboys belong to the world!

: } .....,,,...

[Michael Emrys]

Later I complain about that to my friends in Wyoming. And they said, "Viktor, Brits love cowboys." I said, "Really?" Next trip I had cowboy hat, cowboy boots. I show up in their pubs; they look at me with astoundment. "Are you cowboy?" I say, "Yup." My vocabulary was very limited: Yup and Nope. But I did notice that they accept American cowboy with respect. And not only in England, in Europe and other countries as well. So I do advise my friends, who are traveling abroad, wear cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and act as a cowboy. American cowboys belong to the world!

He's probably right about all that. But I wonder what his reception would have been if he had shown up in a Darth Vader costume.

Michael

[decimated550]

I read the book MiG Pilot a years ago, one of the few i've read in one sitting. It was that good...the heartbreaking choices...Belenko's love for Russia, yet hatred for the Soviet system...the stupid wastefulness of its military bureaucracy, in which the base personnel were detailed to paint the fading leaves green so that a visiting dignitary could be impressed...the gallant Japanese thwarting the Soviet's attempts to bring back their man...as a former US Air Force crew chief (F15s) i was totally engrossed by the details of the analysis of the MiG-25s strengths, weakness, and vastly different Russian approach to engineering. I rarely read fiction, because the stuff of real life is so much better.

[John Kettler]

Lt Belenko,

What memories this brings back! You left out the barbecue story, though, or was that from Fulcrum Pilot?

decimated550,

You would've loved to read the S/NOFORN/WNINTEL MiG-25 FOXBAT Exploitation Report. It was about two inches thick and cataloged everything we learned from dissecting Belenko's MiG. Quite a few surprises there!

Regards,

John Kettler

[decimated550]

fascinating - though a google search of the title turned up nothing.

How were you able to access that report? Were you in military aviation too?

That is me at 22 years old, with my jet 83-023. The 23rd f15C built in 1983.

[gunnergoz]

Lt Belenko,

What memories this brings back! You left out the barbecue story, though, or was that from Fulcrum Pilot?

decimated550,

You would've loved to read the S/NOFORN/WNINTEL MiG-25 FOXBAT Exploitation Report. It was about two inches thick and cataloged everything we learned from dissecting Belenko's MiG. Quite a few surprises there!

Regards,

John Kettler

Oh Great, John, now we have to shoot you...

[John Kettler]

decimated550,

I got as close to the title as I could recall. Classification is about right, but there may've been some REL UK-CAN-AUS (Releasable to the U.K, Canada, Australia) stuff, too. In any event, the title was unclassified and ended like this (U). I believe DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) put it out. If you submit a FOIA REquest, you might be able to get it declassified and released to you. If you're an airplane buff, you'll go nuts. Or, you could have a more intimate, and memorable experience like this.

MiG-25U FOXBAT (Two seat trainer)

Meanwhile, you'll have to make do with this.

http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/09/by-foxbat-to-freedom/

gunnergoz,

I'm afraid you'll have to take a number and wait your turn! On a more serious note, I have POed various alphabet soup agencies, resulting in serious talk, twice since late 2011, of "lancing the boil," a newish euphemism for TWEEP (Terminate With Extreme Prejudice), which is still used. If you read some of the military-technical stuff I put out, you'll see why. Search "John Kettler, Kim Jong-un" and prepare for an astounding read. You'll then know why South Korea's nasty neighbor folded his tent after saying he'd nuke us and went away. Just so you know, absolutely nothing in that piece resembling a discus, making right hand turns and instant stops!

Back to Belenko's MiG-25. I can tell you for a fact that either Belenko was conned or simply kept ignorant. Not only did we NOT have a handle on the FOXBAT, but we had many critical things wrong. This is one of the fundamental problems with assessing someone else's technology without understanding the other guy's approach. The Russians do things differently, and if you can't or won't get that, you're screwed.

We thought the plane was mostly titanium; that the plane's airframe was relatively light, as ours would be. Wrong. Mostly steel, with titanium only where absolutely needed.

We thought the plane's top speed was Mach 3.2. Wrong. It was Mach 2.8, and the example the Israelis tracked had runaway engines which were trashed after blazing through the sky like that. We thought the engines were smaller and more efficient. Wrong. Great, honking brutes. Had to be to push that mostly steel airplane through the skies!

We thought we knew the radar, but were horrified to discover it had these things called War Reserve Frequencies of which we knew nothing. Not good if you don't have them in your programmable jammers' threat catalogs!

When we looked at the X-band radar, great was the derision at those "backwards Russians" and their "crude vacuum tube technology." That lasted until someone brighter chimed in with "That makes it inherently hard against EMP (electromagnetic pulse). The FOXBAT was a nuclear armed strategic interceptor and was designed to operate in a (gasp!) nuclear environment. Lots of long faces over that. Nor were they happy to discover it was so powerful it could burn right through jamming.

Somewhere along in there they discovered a second radar--of which we knew absolutely nothing. It operated in an entirely different frequency--J band!

Essentially, the technical exploitation of Belenko's FOXBAT was like a cudgel to practically the entire Intelligence Community. Unfortunately we couldn't keep the MiG-25, for Japan was the subject of enormous Russian spleen and threats of annihilation. So we grudgingly returned the MiG-25 after scrutinizing, measuring and testing everything minutely. Weren't allowed to fly it, though. Too bad some wag didn't mark the huge crates in which the completely disassembled bird was returned "Some assembly required!"

Regards,

John Kettler