On August 16, 1966, an Iraqi Air Force MiG-21 touched down at an Israeli air base after a daring flight across the Middle East. The pilot, Captain Munir Redfa, an Iraqi Assyrian Christian officer frustrated by discrimination against him and being ordered to bomb Kurdish civilians, defected under the careful orchestration of the Mossad, bringing with him the MiG-21. As a Christian suffering discrimination in Moslem Iraq, Redfa also expressed admiration for Israel, the “few against so many Moslems" for standing up to its Arab neighbors.

Redfa’s legacy, as well as the boldness of the operation, became the cornerstone for a shift in important geopolitical alliances and military success.

Code-named “Operation Diamond,” the three-year effort delivered the Soviet Union’s most advanced fighter plane intact into Western hands for the first time. What followed was not only a triumph for Israeli intelligence but a decisive act of intelligence sharing that gave the United States critical insight into the aircraft it was fighting over Vietnam, and which it would face for decades afterward.

By the mid-1960s, the Soviet supplied MiG-21 had become the backbone of Arab air forces. Egypt, Syria, and Iraq fielded growing numbers of the fast, highly maneuverable plane. Israeli military leaders understood that air superiority would decide future wars, yet they lacked detailed knowledge of the plane’s abilities: its performance limits, radar capabilities, and combat weaknesses. Mossad chief Meir Amit made acquiring a flyable MiG-21 a top priority. Earlier attempts in Egypt failed.

Eventually the Mossad identified Redfa, offered financial security, Israeli citizenship, and safe passage for his family, and arranged the carefully coordinated escape. Redfa took off on a training flight, diverted from his formation, and flew roughly 900........

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