{{Short description|Israeli MiG-21 acquisition operation}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} [[File:Hatzerim 201206 MiG21.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Munir Redfa]]'s MiG-21, the subject of Operation Diamond, at the [[Israeli Air Force Museum]] in [[Hatzerim Airbase|Hatzerim]]]] '''Operation Diamond'''<ref>עמוס גלבוע ואפרים לפיד (עורכים), '''מלאכת מחשבת: 60 שנות מודיעין ישראלי - מבט מבפנים''' (עמוד 246), הוצאת ידיעות ספרים והמרכז למורשת המודיעין, 2008</ref> ({{langx|he|מִבְצָע יַהֲלוֹם}}, ''Mivtza Yahalom'') was an operation undertaken by [[Mossad]]. Its goal was the acquisition of a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-built [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]], the most advanced Soviet fighter plane at that time. The operation began in mid-1963 and ended on August 16, 1966, when an [[Iraqi Air Force]] MiG-21, flown by the Iraqi [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] [[defector]] Munir Redfa, landed at an air base in Israel. Israel and the United States were able to study the design of the plane.

==History== MiG-21 production began in 1959, and Egypt, Syria and [[Iraq]] received numerous planes.<ref name="Secret Wars"/>

===The first two attempts=== The first attempt to acquire the aircraft was conducted in Egypt by Mossad agent Jean Thomas. Thomas and his group were ordered to find a pilot, who for $1,000,000 would agree to fly the plane to Israel. However, their first attempt was unsuccessful. The Egyptian pilot they contacted, Adib Hanna, informed the authorities about Thomas' interest in the MiG. Thomas, his father, and three other people were arrested and charged with espionage. Thomas and two others were hanged in December 1962. The other three members of the group received long prison sentences.<ref name="Secret Wars" /> The second attempt also failed. Mossad agents ended up assaulting two Iraqi pilots who refused to cooperate with them, in order to keep them quiet for some time.<ref name="Secret Wars" />

===Success=== [[File:Operation Diamond.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=0:49|Footage of the Iraqi plane]]

In 1964, a Jewish Iraqi, Yusuf, contacted Israeli personnel in [[Tehran]], as Israel and Iran still had diplomatic relations.<!-- ???: "and [[Western Europe]]" --> Yusuf, since 10 years of age, had been working as a servant for a [[Maronite Church|Maronite Christian]] family. His girlfriend's friend was married to an Iraqi pilot named Munir Redfa. Redfa was annoyed that his Christian roots prevented his promotion in the military. He was also upset that he had been ordered to attack Iraqi [[Kurds]]. Yusuf believed that Redfa was ready to leave Iraq.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name="Loch K. Johnson" />

A female Mossad agent befriended Redfa, and he told her that he was forced to live far away from his family in [[Baghdad]], he was not trusted by his commanders, and allowed to fly only with small fuel tanks because of his Christianity. He also expressed his admiration towards Israelis, "few against so many Muslims".<ref name="Loch K. Johnson"/> Redfa was persuaded to travel to Europe to meet with Israeli agents. [[Meir Amit]] himself observed the meeting between Redfa and an intelligence officer, using a peep-hole.<ref name="Secret Wars"/> Redfa was offered $1&nbsp;million, Israeli citizenship, and full-time employment. Redfa demanded that his relatives be smuggled out of Iraq, which Israel agreed to do. Later Redfa traveled to Israel to see the airfield he was going to use to land the plane. He also met with the commander of [[Israeli Air Force]], Major General [[Mordechai Hod|Mordechai "Mottie" Hod]]. They discussed the dangerous flight and its path.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name="Loch K. Johnson" />

Numerous Mossad agents were sent to Iraq to assist the transfer of Redfa's wife Betty, their two children aged three and five, his parents and a number of other family members out of the country.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name="Loch K. Johnson" /> Betty and their two children went to Paris for what she thought was a summer vacation. Redfa, who promised to prepare her for what was going to happen, told her nothing. When Betty was contacted by a Mossad agent, who had her new Israeli passport, she initially became very upset and threatened to contact the Iraqi embassy, before she calmed down.<ref name="Times" /> The other family members were taken to the Iranian border, where Kurdish [[guerrillas]] helped them to cross into Iran, from where they were taken to Israel.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name="Loch K. Johnson" />

The opportunity to defect came about on August 16, 1966. While Redfa was flying over northern Jordan, his plane was tracked by [[radar]]. The Jordanians contacted Syria but were reassured that the plane belonged to the Syrian air force and was on a training mission.<ref name="Secret Wars" /> When Redfa's plane reached Israel, he was met by two Israeli Air Force [[Dassault Mirage III]]s. Captain Radfa lowered his landing gear, making a signal that he posed no threat, and he was defecting. The interceptors escorted him to land his Soviet-built [[MiG-21]]F-13 at [[Hatzor Airbase]], Israel<ref name="Red Eagles">{{Citation |last=Davies |first=Steve |title=Red Eagles |page=352 |year=2008 |location=[[Oxford]], United Kingdom |publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-1-84603-378-0}}</ref>. Later at a press conference, Redfa said that he had landed the plane on "the last drop of fuel".<ref name="Secret Wars" />

====Munir Redfa==== {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = Captain | name = Munir Redfa | native_name = منير ردفا | native_name_lang = ar | image = Muni Redfa.jpg | alt = Iraqi pilot Munir Redfa in uniform | caption = Munir Redfa in Iraqi Air Force uniform | birth_name = Munir Habib Jamil Rufa | birth_date = 1934 | birth_place = [[Baghdad]], Kingdom of Iraq | death_date = c. 1998 | death_place = [[Israel]] (presumed) | monuments = His MiG-21 is displayed at the [[Israeli Air Force Museum]], [[Hatzerim Airbase]] | other_names = Munir Rufa | siglum = | citizenship = Iraqi (former), Israeli (after defection) | education = Military aviation training (specifics not detailed) | alma_mater = Iraqi Air Force Academy (assumed) | occupation = [[Fighter pilot]] | years_active = 1950s–1966 (Iraqi Air Force) | era = [[Cold War]] | employer = [[Iraqi Air Force]] (until 1966) | organization = | agent = [[Mossad]] (facilitated defection) | known_for = Defecting to Israel with a MiG-21 as part of [[Operation Diamond]] | notable_works = Subject of the 1988 film ''[[Steal the Sky]]'' | title = Captain | opponents = [[Iraqi Ba'athist regime]] | spouse = Yes (name not specified) | children = Yes (exact number not stated) | footnotes = Redfa's defection helped the U.S. and Israel study the MiG-21, aiding air superiority in later conflicts }} [[File:Hatzerim 201206 MiG21.jpg|thumb|250px|Redfa's MiG-21, the subject of [[Operation Diamond]], at the [[Israeli Air Force Museum]] in [[Hatzerim Airbase|Hatzerim]]]]

Captain '''Munir Redfa''' ({{langx|ar|منير ردفا}}, {{langx|syr|ܡܘܢܝܪ ܪܕܦܐ}}), born '''Munir Habib Jamil Rufa''' ({{langx|ar|منير حبيب جميل روفا}}, {{langx|syr|ܡܘܢܝܪ ܚܒܝܒ ܓܡܝܠ ܪܘܦܐ}}&lrm;) (1934 – {{circa}} 1998<ref name=ynetnews/>) was an [[Iraq]]i [[fighter pilot]]. After [[Abd al-Karim Qasim|Qasim]]'s [[14 July Revolution|coup]], Redfa was one of only five pilots the new regime trusted to continue serving with the sole Iraqi unit operating the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]], [[11th Squadron (Iraq)|11th Squadron]].<ref>[[Tom Cooper (author)|Tom Cooper]], [http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/1966-israeli-intelligence-convinced-iraqi-pilot-defect-his-17504 In 1966, Israeli Intelligence Convinced an Iraqi Pilot to Defect with His MiG-21 Fighter], The National Interest, 2016.</ref>

Redfa defected in 1966 in Operation Diamond. His entire extended family was smuggled safely out of Iraq to Israel. Redfa was an Assyrian adherent of the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]. He died of a heart attack around 1998.<ref name="ynetnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3405913,00.html |work=YNet News |title=The Blue Bird legend |author=Reuven Weiss |date=May 29, 2007}}.</ref>

==Aftermath== Soon after his defection, Redfa's MiG was renumbered [[007]], reflecting the manner in which it had arrived. Within a few weeks the aircraft took off again with Israeli test pilot Danny Shapira at the controls, on the first of many test flights. The jet's strengths and weaknesses were analyzed and it was flown against IAF fighters. This offered a path to give Israeli pilots sufficient knowledge and practical experience to effectively counter that aircraft type. <ref name="norton" /> In May 1967 director of [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[Richard Helms]] said that Israel had proven that it had made good use of the aircraft, when on April 7, 1967, during aerial battles over the [[Golan Heights]], the Israeli Air Force brought down 6&nbsp;Syrian [[MiG-21]]s without losing any of its Dassault Mirage IIIs.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name=ynetnews/>

In January 1968, Israel loaned the MiG to the United States, which evaluated the jet under the [[HAVE DOUGHNUT]] program. The transfer helped pave the way for the Israeli acquisition of the [[F-4 Phantom]], which the Americans had been reluctant to sell to Israel.<ref name="Secret Wars" /><ref name="Loch K. Johnson" /><ref name="Times" /><ref name="ynet" />

==In popular culture== The film ''[[Steal the Sky]]'' (1988) is based on Operation Diamond.<ref>[http://www.coastcomp.com/av/fltline2/avmovie.htm#S "Steal the Sky."] ''Military Aviation Movie List''. Retrieved: 2021-12-13.</ref>

==See also== * [[Operation Synytsia]] - how Ukrainian military intelligence helped a Russian pilot hijack a Mi-8 military transport helicopter * [[Defection of Viktor Belenko]] - Taking with him a [[MiG-25]] to Japan * [[List of Cold War pilot defections]]

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="Loch K. Johnson">{{cite book|title=Strategic Intelligence, Volume 1|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=cg39hcj6AxQC&pg=RA2-PA76|year = 2007|isbn = 978-0-275-98943-9|publisher = Praeger Security International |author = Loch K. Johnson |author-link = Loch K. Johnson |pages=75–76}}</ref> <ref name="Secret Wars">{{cite book|title=Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=FkyMsycbemEC&pg=PA206|year = 2007|isbn = 978-0-8021-3286-4|publisher = Grove Press|author = Ian Black and Benny Morris|pages=206–209}} </ref> <ref name="norton">{{cite book|last=Norton|first=Bill|title=Air War on the Edge – A History of the Israel Air Force and its Aircraft since 1947|publisher=[[Ian Allan Publishing|Midland Publishing]]|year=2004|page=382|isbn=1-85780-088-5}}</ref> <ref name=Times>{{cite web|title=Stolen Iraqi jet helped Israel win six-day war|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1875667.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920114800/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1875667.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2011|date = June 3, 2007 |work=[[The Times]] |author = Uzi Mahnaimi}}</ref> <ref name="ynet">{{cite news|first=Reuven|last=Weiss|accessdate=July 31, 2010|date=May 29, 2007|title=The Blue Bird Legend|newspaper=Ynetnews |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3405913,00.html|publisher=[[Ynet]]}}</ref> }}

{{MiG-21 family}}

[[Category:Mossad operations|Diamond]] [[Category:Defection]] [[Category:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:Iraq–Israel relations]] [[Category:Aviation history of Iraq]] [[Category:Aviation history of Israel]] [[Category:Military operations of the Cold War]] [[Category:Iraqi Air Force]] [[Category:Assyrians in Iraq]] [[Category:Assyrians in Israel]] [[Category:1960s in aviation]] [[Category:1960s in international relations]] [[Category:Military operations of the Arab–Israeli conflict]] [[Category:Military operations involving Iraq]]