airforce-magazine.com 2010/0610doughnut.aspx

MiG-21 (“YF-113”) in US markings near Groom Lake, about 1968

On Aug. 16, 1966, Iraqi Air Force Capt. Munir Radfa defected to Israel in a MiG-21 jet fighter. The MiG-21 was, at the time, a state-of-the-art Soviet aircraft and the pride of Russia’s aircraft industry. The defection, orchestrated by the Israeli government, soon gave both Israel and the United States access to intelligence from a front-line Soviet fighter that the two nations would face in battle in the coming years.

Code-named “Fishbed-E” by NATO, the Mach 2 fighter posed a serious threat to Israel’s ability to maintain air superiority in that nation’s dangerous and tense neighborhood. In the air order of battle, the Israelis faced down enemy air forces that included 18 Fishbeds in Syria, 10 in Iraq, and 34 in Egypt.

At the time, the Israeli Air Force had nothing comparable to the MiG-21—the IAF was equipped with slower French-made Vautours and Mirage IIIC fighters. A 20-year arms embargo imposed by the US Congress had denied Israel modern aircraft such as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and the newer McDonnell Aircraft F-4 Phantom.

Following orders from then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, Israel’s ultrasecret Mossad intelligence agency had orchestrated the Iraqi pilot’s defection. Mossad officers reportedly cultivated Radfa’s frustration on being passed over for promotion due to his Christian origins.

In addition, Mossad officers learned that—following completion of a US military training course—Radfa had become excited about life in the West.

On the morning of his fateful training-flight-turned-defection, Radfa’s MiG was fitted with a 108-gallon auxiliary fuel tank. This ensured he would have adequate fuel for the 560-mile flight to Israel.

After climbing to 30,000 feet, Radfa departed Iraqi airspace with no problem, but over Jordan, he was intercepted by two Royal Jordanian Air Force Hawker Hunters which attempted to make radio contact.

Although they got no reply from Radfa, they allowed him to continue on, presumably because of the Iraqi insignia on his aircraft.

As prearranged, Radfa was met at the Israeli border by two IAF Mirage IIIs whose pilots escorted him to a safe landing.

With Radfa’s assistance, Israeli test pilot Dani Shapira began a detailed evaluation of the MiG-21, according to a later account published in Israel News.

After testing in Israel, the aircraft was moved to the US government’s secret Nevada airfield commonly known as Area 51 or Groom Lake. It was here—birthplace of the Mach 3-cruising SR-71 “Blackbird” and the stealthy F-117—that the US had the opportunity to put the MiG-21 through its paces.

Redesignated as the YF-110, the Fishbed’s test and evaluation project was code-named Have Doughnut.

Because the MiG-21 was then doing battle in Vietnam, US analysts sought urgently to determine the MiG’s performance, compared to select US aircraft, and to formulate tactics for both defensive and offensive maneuvering. The Have Doughnut test objectives were to evaluate the airplane’s effectiveness as a day fighter-interceptor and its secondary role in ground attack.

In addition to Radfa’s aircraft, the Israelis captured at least 3, and possibly as many as 6, MiG-21s in flying condition during the 6 Day War in 1967. The three confirmed captures occurred when an Algerian squadron was sent to reinforce the Egyptians on the second day of the war. The Algerians attempted to land at the frontier airfield of El Arish in the Sinai, not knowing that Israeli ground forces had captured the base during the night. Egyptian controllers away from El Arish helpfully maintained radio silence during the episode. It is likely that the controllers themselves did not realize that El Arish had been overrun. Years later, Anwar el Sadat stated that even he and President Nasser had no idea of the extent of Egyptians losses at that point. They had been told that Egyptian forces were advancing rapidly into Israel itself and Israeli resistance was crumbling. The Algerian pilots were taken prisoner and released in the general exchange a few weeks later.

El Arish also yielded a number of wrecked and damaged Egyptian aircraft. Some of these may have been repairable, while others were salvaged for spares. A small stock of unused spares, together with ground support equipment and operating manuals, were also captured.

“Have Doughnut” was common knowledge in the aerospace community from the 70s onward but it remained officially classified until quite recently.