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On September 6, 1976, Soviet Union pilot Viktor Belenko flew a MIG-25 fighter and defected to Japan.
The Soviet Union immediately asked Japan to return the MIG-25, which was a top military secret.

However, the Japanese goverment informed US goverment first and gave various reasons to delay its return.
Meanwhile, the US sent engineers to Japan, where they disassembled and examined the fighter for weeks.

On November 15, 1976, the fighter was returned to Soviet Union with many parts missing.

Viktor Belenko started a new life in USA and later wrote a book about this story.

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