My Take
I'll be honest, the first time I read about Viktor Belenko I couldn't stop grinning at the sheer audacity of it. The man straight-up flew his MiG-25 Foxbat out of the Soviet Union in 1976 and plopped it down in Hakodate, Japan, handing the West its first real look at a jet that had been spooking analysts for years. What I love is how unglamorous his later life was: this Cold War legend reportedly settled into America and lived an ordinary, low-key existence, the kind you'd never peg as a former Soviet interceptor pilot. There's something so human about that arc. He passed away in 2023, and honestly, what a wild, brave, quietly remarkable life he got to live. Total legend in my book.
Overview
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (Russian: Виктор Иванович Беленко; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. George H. W.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Viktor Belenko
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴィクトル・ベレンコ
- Reading
- ゔぃくとる・べれんこ
- Born
- February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Boar
- Origin
- Nalchik, Russia
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- dentist / bus driver / military personnel
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- school medal
- aircraft pilot qualification (class)
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.