On September 6 , 1976 , Soviet Air Forces pilot Viktor Belenko successfully defected to the West , flying his MiG-25 ' Foxbat ' to Hakodate , Japan . During this incident , Japan Self-Defense Force radar lost track of the aircraft when Belenko flew his MiG-25 at a low altitude , prompting the Japan Air Self-Defense Force ( JASDF ) to consider procurement of airborne early warning aircraft
defected
Defection of Viktor Belenko
Boeing E-767