Operation Diamond
| Company type | Covert intelligence operation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Intelligence, Military aviation |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Fate | Completed in 1966 |
Area served | Israel, United States |
Key people | Munir Redfa (defector pilot), Meir Amit, Mordechai Hod |
| Products | Acquisition of Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jet |
Operation Diamond[1] (Hebrew: מִבְצָע יַהֲלוֹם, Mivtza Yahalom) was a covert mission executed by Mossad with the objective of securing a Soviet-manufactured Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, which was the most sophisticated Soviet fighter aircraft of its era. Initiated in mid-1963, the operation concluded on August 16, 1966, when an Iraqi Air Force MiG-21 piloted by Iraqi Assyrian defector Munir Redfa landed at an Israeli airbase. This acquisition enabled both Israel and the United States to thoroughly analyze the aircraft's design.
History
Production of the MiG-21 commenced in 1959, with large quantities delivered to Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.[2]
Initial attempts
Mossad's first effort to obtain the plane took place in Egypt through agent Jean Thomas. Thomas and his team were tasked with recruiting a pilot willing to defect by flying the aircraft to Israel in exchange for $1,000,000. This initial plan failed when the Egyptian pilot they approached, Adib Hanna, reported the proposal to authorities. Consequently, Thomas, his father, and three associates were arrested and charged with espionage. In December 1962, Thomas and two others were executed by hanging, while the remaining members received lengthy prison terms.[2] A subsequent attempt also did not succeed; during this effort, Mossad operatives resorted to assaulting two Iraqi pilots who refused cooperation in order to silence them temporarily.[2]
Successful defection
In 1964, an Iraqi Jew named Yusuf made contact with Israeli operatives stationed in Tehran, where diplomatic relations between Israel and Iran were still maintained. Yusuf had served since childhood as a servant for a Maronite Christian family. Through his girlfriend’s acquaintance—who was married to Iraqi pilot Munir Redfa—Yusuf learned of Redfa’s dissatisfaction stemming from his Christian background limiting his military advancement and his reluctance over orders to attack Iraqi Kurds. Yusuf believed Redfa was prepared to defect.[2][3]
A female Mossad operative developed a relationship with Redfa. During their interactions, he confided that he was compelled to live apart from his family in Baghdad, distrusted by his superiors, and restricted to flying missions only with reduced fuel tanks due to his Christian faith. He also expressed admiration for Israelis as "few against so many Muslims".[3] Redfa was convinced to travel to Europe for meetings with Israeli intelligence agents. The encounter between Redfa and an Israeli officer was personally observed by Meir Amit through a concealed observation point.[2] He was offered $1 million, Israeli citizenship, and guaranteed employment. Redfa stipulated that his family be covertly extracted from Iraq—a condition Israel agreed to fulfill. Subsequently, he visited Israel to inspect the airfield designated for landing the plane and met with Major General Mordechai "Mottie" Hod, commander of the Israeli Air Force. They reviewed the hazardous flight route.[2][3]
Multiple Mossad operatives were deployed into Iraq to facilitate the extraction of Redfa’s wife Betty, their two young children aged three and five, his parents, and other relatives.[2][3] Betty accompanied her children on what she believed was a summer holiday trip to Paris; Redfa had not prepared her for the true nature of events. Upon receiving contact from a Mossad agent presenting her new Israeli passport, she initially reacted with distress and threatened to notify the Iraqi embassy before calming down.[4] Other family members were escorted toward the Iranian border where Kurdish guerrillas assisted their crossing into Iran; from there they were transported safely to Israel.[2][3]
The defection opportunity arose on August 16, 1966. While flying over northern Jordanian territory, Redfa’s aircraft was detected by radar. Jordanian authorities alerted Syria but were reassured that it was a Syrian Air Force plane conducting training exercises.[2] Upon entering Israeli airspace, two Israeli Air Force Dassault Mirage III jets intercepted him. Captain Redfa lowered his landing gear as a sign of peaceful intent and defection. The Mirage fighters escorted him as he landed his Soviet-built MiG-21F-13 at Hatzor Airbase, Israel.[5] At a later press briefing, Redfa stated that he landed using "the last drop of fuel".[2]
Munir Redfa
Captain Munir Redfa (Arabic: منير ردفا, Syriac: ܡܘܢܝܪ ܪܕܦܐ), originally named Munir Habib Jamil Rufa (Arabic: منير حبيب جميل روفا, Syriac: ܡܘܢܝܪ ܚܒܝܒ ܓܡܝܠ ܪܘܦܐ) (1934 – approximately 1998) served as a fighter pilot in the Iraqi Air Force. Following the 14 July Revolution led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, Redfa was among a select group of five pilots whom the new government trusted to remain active within Iraq’s sole MiG-21 operating unit, the 11th Squadron.
In 1966, during Operation Diamond, Redfa defected to Israel, bringing his MiG-21 aircraft with him. Subsequently, his extended family was covertly relocated from Iraq to Israel for their safety. An Assyrian by ethnicity and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Redfa passed away around 1998 due to a heart attack.
Shortly after Redfa's defection, the MiG he flew was redesignated as 007, symbolizing the unique circumstances of its arrival. Within weeks, Israeli test pilot Danny Shapira conducted the aircraft's initial flight among numerous subsequent evaluations. The jet underwent thorough assessment to identify its capabilities and limitations, and it was engaged in test dogfights against IAF fighters. This process enabled Israeli pilots to gain essential insights and hands-on experience needed to effectively combat this type of aircraft. In May 1967, CIA Director Richard Helms acknowledged Israel's proficient use of the plane, highlighting that on April 7, 1967, during aerial clashes over the Golan Heights, the Israeli Air Force successfully shot down six Syrian MiG-21s without losing any Dassault Mirage IIIs.
In January 1968, Israel lent the MiG to the United States for examination under the HAVE DOUGHNUT program. This transfer was instrumental in facilitating Israel's procurement of the F-4 Phantom, a fighter jet that the U.S. had previously been hesitant to supply.
In popular culture
The 1988 film Steal the Sky dramatizes the events of Operation Diamond.
See also
- Operation Synytsia – detailing how Ukrainian military intelligence assisted a Russian pilot in hijacking a Mi-8 transport helicopter
- Defection of Viktor Belenko – involving a pilot defecting to Japan with a MiG-25
- List of Cold War pilot defections
References
- ↑ עמוס גלבוע ואפרים לפיד (עורכים), מלאכת מחשבת: 60 שנות מודיעין ישראלי - מבט מבפנים (עמוד 246), הוצאת ידיעות ספרים והמרכז למורשת המודיעין, 2008
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Ian Black and Benny Morris (2007). Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services. Grove Press. pp. 206–209. ISBN 978-0-8021-3286-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Loch K. Johnson (2007). Strategic Intelligence, Volume 1. Praeger Security International. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-275-98943-9.
- ↑ Uzi Mahnaimi (June 3, 2007). "Stolen Iraqi jet helped Israel win six-day war". The Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011.
- ↑ Davies, Steve (2008), Red Eagles, Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey, p. 352, ISBN 978-1-84603-378-0
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "norton" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.
<ref> tag with name "ynet" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.- Mossad operations
- Defection
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
- Iraq–Israel relations
- Aviation history of Iraq
- Aviation history of Israel
- Military operations of the Cold War
- Iraqi Air Force
- Assyrians in Iraq
- Assyrians in Israel
- 1960s in aviation
- 1960s in international relations
- Military operations of the Arab–Israeli conflict
- Military operations involving Iraq