What you need to know: At the end of the Cold War, the United States secretly acquired 21 MiG-29 fighter jets from Moldova to prevent their potential sale to Iran, fearing that the nuclear-capable variant of the MiG-29C would eventually destabilize the region.

-The United States transported these aircraft to Ohio in 1997, where they became invaluable for intelligence and training.

-U.S. and Israeli pilots tested the MiG-29, gaining critical information about Russian air tactics.

-The MiG-29’s thrust and helmet-mounted cueing system impressed pilots, allowing Western forces to understand Russian capabilities and refine American and Israeli combat tactics for today’s aerial battles .

How the US secretly acquired MiG-29s to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions

Soviet-made MiG-29 warplane was equal and, in some cases, exceeded the capabilities of the American F-15 and F-16 fighters. This is the conclusion of one of the American test pilots who flew the MiG-29 at the end of the Cold War. This pilot was one of many Americans.

No, this test pilot was not required to consult the post-Soviet Russian government as so many Westerners were in the 1990s. This test pilot flew the MiG-29 on an American military base . Because, unbeknownst to the public, the US military had bought 21 MiG-29 fighter jets at the end of the Cold War.

Moldova is a small country dangerously close to Russia.

After the fall of the USSR, the small country found itself in possession of a fleet of 34 MiG-29s and eight Soviet Mi-8 Hip helicopters. Moldova could not afford to maintain this arsenal. Washington feared that the Moldovan government, desperate for funds and with little else to sell, would sell these planes to Iran.

Moldova, Iran and the MiG-29

Specifically, U.S. leaders were concerned that Moldova would sell the MiG-29C variant to the Iranians. This is the MiG-29 equipped to carry nuclear weapons. Since Iran was dedicated nuclear since the 1980s – at least according to many experts – and the Americans believe that such a move would be highly destabilizing for the Middle East region, Washington has worked to prevent such a development.

So America purchased a large portion of these fighter jets and secretly shipped them back to the United States on C-17 transports. They arrived in Dayton, Ohio, in 1997.

At this point, these birds became a new favorite exotic toy for the US Air Force to play with (in secret, of course).

But more than that, the Americans were able to glean important information about a warplane of which they otherwise had limited practical knowledge. What was learned proved useful, especially now that, unfortunately, Russian-American relations are at their lowest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russian fighter jets pose a constant threat to U.S. and NATO forces operating in Europe.

If U.S. pilots understand what their potential rivals in the Russian Air Force are trained to do, it could help them understand how to survive — and win — against them in a dogfight.

It was not only the Americans who had access to the MiG-29s. The Israelis too. Probably out of fear that the Iranians might one day gain access to the MiG-29, the Israelis wanted to know what they might face. So, they also trained on these birds. The Israelis fell in love with the war plane. Like the Americans, they have determined that the MiG-29 is a very difficult aircraft to fly, unless in the hands of an experienced pilot.

It takes a qualified pilot to fly the MiG-29

This is because the thrust exerted on these birds is phenomenal.

Additionally, it lacks many of the equipment that U.S. fighter jet pilots depend on. However, the MiG-29 is not completely lacking in high technology. In fact, numerous reports suggest that the MiG-29’s helmet-mounted cueing system was more advanced than anything in U.S. or Israeli arsenals when the MiG-29s were first tested by the West. This system allows MiG-29 pilots to have more precise targeting from greater angles than their American rivals.

Ultimately, this advantage would disappear by 2003. But for more than a decade, the Russian MiG-29 had a better targeting capability than any American warplane. The American acquisition of the MiG-29 could even have helped improve the targeting systems of American combat aircraft. After all, operating units for the Air Force received the MiG-29 for testing. The sole purpose of these units is to identify foreign technologies that might be useful and reverse engineer them.

The acquisition of MiG-29s at the end of the Cold War represented a bold and brilliant piece of intelligence work. He was probably of immeasurable help in getting the Air Force to understand what it might be facing. Additionally, the Air Force has likely perfected technologies that are essential to U.S. pilots in combat today.

About the author

Brandon J. Weicherta national security project of national interest analystis a former congressman and geopolitical analyst who contributes to The Washington Times, Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is now available from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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