The Israeli MiG-23!
Major Adel Basaam’s Defection
In 1989, Major Adel Basaam of the Syrian Air Force flew a MiG-23MLD to Israel and requested political asylum. Basaam was taking part in a training flight, flying parallel to the Golan border, when he suddenly broke away, descending rapidly and accelerating toward Israel. Although the Syrian flight was being monitored by the IAF air defense, Basaam descended to such a low level that Israeli radar tracking his jet lost trace of him. He made a dash across the border on afterburner and, spotting the northern airfield of Megiddo (a civilian airport), quickly landed. The entire incident took only seven minutes.
Motivations and Contributions
Basaam’s actions were motivated by dissatisfaction with his position in Syria. Major Basaam helped the IAF examine and evaluate the MiG. The IAF conducted just short of 20 test flights between 1989 and 1993 before handing over the MiG to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to be used in the development of potential system improvements. Those upgrades could then be sold to the few countries still flying the Flogger and wishing to upgrade them.
Current Status
Basaam’s MiG-23 now resides at the IAF Museum at Hatzerim. Major Basaam still lives in Israel to this day.
-RBM.
