{"id":27526,"date":"2025-08-18T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=27526"},"modified":"2025-08-18T00:00:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T21:00:18","slug":"the-christian-pilot-the-mossad-and-the-jet-that-rewrote-middle-east-air-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/the-christian-pilot-the-mossad-and-the-jet-that-rewrote-middle-east-air-power\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christian Pilot, the Mossad, and the Jet That Rewrote Middle East Air Power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What Was the MiG-21?<br \/>\n<\/strong>The MiG-21 was the most advanced Soviet fighter of the 1960s \u2013 a lightweight, supersonic aircraft with a delta wing, designed to combine interception and attack capabilities, a groundbreaking concept at the time. Despite its relatively weak engine, its aerodynamic design and afterburner enabled it to reach Mach 2, putting it on par with the American Starfighter and the French Mirage.<\/p>\n<p>More than 60 countries purchased the MiG-21, making it the most widely used fighter model in the decades after World War II.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27531\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27531\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-27531\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2190618615-2048x1152.jpg.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27531\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: MiG-21 | Illustration | C-S \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The Christian Pilot<br \/>\n<\/strong>Munir Redfa, a Christian Iraqi Air Force captain and deputy squadron commander, flew MiG-21s but was blocked from further promotion due to his faith. Burdened by guilt over bombing missions against Kurdish civilians in northern Iraq, he sought to escape the regime.<\/p>\n<p>In secret contacts with the Mossad, Redfa offered to defect to Israel with his jet, in exchange for safe passage for his family to a Western country and financial support. His MiG bore the tail number 007 \u2013 a detail later seen as symbolic because of its association with fictional spy James Bond.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27532\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27532\" style=\"width: 681px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-27532\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05e8_\u05e8\u05d3\u05e4\u05d0.jpg.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"681\" height=\"497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05e8_\u05e8\u05d3\u05e4\u05d0.jpg.webp 545w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05e8_\u05e8\u05d3\u05e4\u05d0.jpg-300x219.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Munir Redfa | Public use under Section 27a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Weizman Asked for a MiG \u2013 and That&#8217;s What he Got<br \/>\n<\/strong>Operation Diamond was born in a meeting between Air Force Commander Ezer Weizman and Mossad chief Meir Amit. Weizman asked for a MiG-21 \u2013 and Amit delivered.<\/p>\n<p>On August 9, 1966, Redfa sent an encrypted message to the Mossad saying he was ready. Israel Radio\u2019s Arabic broadcasts gave him the signal to defect. On August 14, he took off with his MiG but returned due to a technical issue. Two days later, he tried again \u2013 and within an hour crossed into Israeli airspace.<\/p>\n<p>Air Force Squadron 119 commander Ran Pecker and his deputy Shmuel Shper were scrambled from Tel Nof, unaware the MiG was friendly. Spotting it south of Ashdod at 20,000 feet, they were ordered to escort \u2013 not fire. The plane landed safely at Hatzor Airbase.<\/p>\n<p>Publicly, Israel released a cover story: Redfa had defected on his own initiative, citing his refusal to continue bombing Kurds. At a press conference, he read from a letter pre-written by Mossad operatives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Munir Redfa \u2013 A Shadowed Life<br \/>\n<\/strong>Although the operation succeeded, Redfa struggled to adapt. He repeated the cover story but never found peace. He later moved with his family to Europe, where he died of a heart attack in 1998. Brig. Gen. Sheike Barkat, who was directly involved in his recruitment, recalled: &#8220;Someone who betrays his homeland \u2013 even for moral reasons \u2013 never finds peace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27533\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27533\" style=\"width: 764px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-27533\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_1217253187-1024x647.jpg.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"764\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_1217253187-1024x647.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_1217253187-1024x647.jpg-300x190.webp 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_1217253187-1024x647.jpg-768x485.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27533\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MiG-21 tail number 007 | Photo: Lerner Vadim \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The Iraqi MiG and the U.S. Arms Embargo<br \/>\n<\/strong>Redfa brought with him a MiG-21 manual and assisted Israeli crews in maintaining the jet despite the lack of Soviet support equipment. Test pilot Danny Shapira was the first to fly it, followed by mock dogfights against Israel\u2019s top pilots \u2013 including Herzl Bodinger, Ran Pecker, and Asher Snir.<\/p>\n<p>The exercises exposed the MiG\u2019s weaknesses: poor maneuverability at high speeds and limited cockpit visibility \u2013 information that proved decisive in the dogfights of the Six-Day War the following year.<\/p>\n<p>The aircraft was painted red and white for identification, used for training and demonstrations, and even briefly armed for operational readiness, though it was never scrambled. Maintaining a Soviet jet without technical infrastructure was considered a major achievement.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27534\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27534\" style=\"width: 757px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-27534\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/d79ed799d792-21-d7a2d79c-d794d79bd795d795d7a0d7aa.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"757\" height=\"662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/d79ed799d792-21-d7a2d79c-d794d79bd795d795d7a0d7aa.webp 712w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/d79ed799d792-21-d7a2d79c-d794d79bd795d795d7a0d7aa-300x263.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 757px) 100vw, 757px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27534\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MiG-21 shot down by the IAF | Photo: IAF Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Impact on the Arms Embargo<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1968, Israel transferred the jet to the United States, where it was tested for three months at the secret &#8220;Area 51&#8221; base. Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy later said the capture of the MiG significantly influenced the U.S. decision to lift the arms embargo on Israel \u2013 a strategic turning point that reshaped Washington-Jerusalem relations to this day.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23286\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23286\" style=\"width: 745px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-23286\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"745\" height=\"497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-04-08-at-06.43.58-1-scaled.jpeg-2048x1366.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23286\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Netanyahu and Trump at the White House | Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>59 years ago, in August 1966, an Iraqi pilot defected to Israel with a Soviet MiG-21 fighter jet, tail number 007. The plane provided crucial intelligence and helped bring about the end of the American arms embargo on Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2277,77,2241,8,85,6,65],"tags":[6904,2791,1489,1480,6905,6903],"class_list":["post-27526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-idf","category-israel-advocacy","category-politics","category-positive-moment","category-security","category-world","tag-6904","tag-geopolitics","tag-history","tag-israel","tag-mig-21","tag-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.7 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Christian Pilot, the Mossad, and the Jet That Rewrote Middle East Air Power - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Christian Pilot, the Mossad, and the Jet That Rewrote Middle East Air Power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"59 years ago, in August 1966, an Iraqi pilot defected to Israel with a Soviet MiG-21 fighter jet, tail number 007. 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