August 16, 1966
Iraqi fighter pilot Munir Redfa, escorted by two Israeli Mirage jets, lands an Iraqi Air Force MiG -21 at the Hatzor Air Force Base in Israel.
The MiG-21 fighter jet was the most advanced Soviet-built military aircraft of the 1960s and was commonly used by Arab air forces and Soviet allies in Asia, making it the main threat to Western air forces at that time. Accordingly, the Israeli Air Force and intelligence establishments had long sought to obtain an MiG-21.
Known as Operation Diamond, the plan to recover a functional MiG-21 began in 1963. Initially, the Mossad attempted an operation in Egypt, led by agent Jean Thomas. Thomas’ plan was to pay an Egyptian fighter pilot $1 million to steal a plane and fly it to Israel. This plan backfired with the pilot reporting Thomas to Egyptian authorities, resulting in his arrest.
The second attempt to obtain a MiG-21 took place in Iraq but failed after Mossad operatives assaulted two Iraqi pilots in an attempt to silence them when they refused to cooperate.
On a tip from an Iraqi-born Jew, the Mossad then reached out to Redfa, an Iraqi Christian. Redfa was disillusioned because of the poor treatment he endured as a Christian in the Iraqi military. He was especially angry at being forced to attack Iraqi Kurdish targets. In clandestine negotiations in Europe, the Israeli government offered Redfa $1 million, Israeli citizenship for himself and his family, and guaranteed full-time employment in Israel. After secretly visiting Israel to view the airfield where he would land, engaging in numerous briefings with Israeli Air Force personnel, and receiving a secured plan to remove his family from Iraq, Redfa defected with his MiG-21. The Israeli Air Force renumbered the plane 007.
