1982 Cold War movie 'Firefox' based on real incident?

Is it true that an undercover soviet spy broke into Edwards AFB/Groom Lake and stole a black project aircraft?

Just been reading reviews about the movie and someone claims it was based on a real life incident

www.imdb.com...

Browno,

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Is it true that an undercover soviet spy broke into Edwards AFB/Groom Lake and stole a black project aircraft?

Just been reading reviews about the movie and someone claims it was based on a real life incident.
>>

Dunno about the U.S. element of things (I doubt we would want to 'advertise' that, even through a mirror-image event, nor can I think why the Sovs would not brag, especially today, 'having lost the Cold War').

More importantly, what element of U.S. covert technology (period 75-83) would be important enough to steal and yet not important enough to have an effect on the balance of power and VLO systems in particular?

I think the reality is that Belenko was more of a Western agent than was popularly advertised. It's a bit of a vague memory from something someone 'who should know' once said to me but I believe the damning details were in the timing, radio and maps he used to set up his trip to Hokkaido.

Another possibility is that this reflects on what was done in Iran to get an F-14 out of the country.

But again, given the blatantly sci-fi and plot-convenient elements of the story (Mach 5 aircraft fires Mach-2 AA-8 Aphid missiles, RFLO invisible jet cannot beat the Moscow defense system by flying at top Mach and 100,000 feet etc.) I have a feeling that if Hollyweird immitated life, it was a /very/ loose takeoff.


KPl.

I find it highly doubtful anyone would sneak into Groom lake and steal anything. Its really not smart to do something like that. The smart thing to do would be to steal the plans not the aircraft, that you could easily walk out with on your person.

It wouldnt have been a interesting movie if Clint work for years in a Soviet aviation program and then snuck out a computer disk of the plans. Makes a cool movie stealing a plane like that but its not very practical.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX

It wouldnt have been a interesting movie if Clint work for years in a Soviet aviation program and then snuck out a computer disk of the plans. Makes a cool movie stealing a plane like that but its not very practical.

Lol, I agree, that would be a very boring movie.

There's no evidence to prove this. If you have some, then post it. Otherwise, this thread has no use.

Mig Pilot is the book about Lieutenant Viktor Ivanovich Belenko, the Soviet Pilot who landed a Mig-25 Foxbat at Tokyo. It is arguable that this incident provided substantial themes for the plot of the Clint Eastwood movie. At least the subject matter of the story is highly related, while the substantial character actors are different. Belenko provided what was at the time the most advanced Soviet interceptor. Regarding the bolts in odd places, one might surmise it was a "red herring," feigning less than fully advanced aircraft. Deeper investigation by US intelligence made it clear that the design deficiencies did not subtract very much from the performance and actually economized on its assembly. The book is a great read.

By the way the defector theme in Hunt for Red October appears another cookie cutter from the Belenko story. Submarines for technical advances instead of the Mig-25 Foxbat are poignant. People may not have even thought such a thing possible until Belenko did it. The story seems to relay many springboards for other stories.

[edit on 21-3-2006 by SkipShipman]

The plot and storyline for the Clint Eastwood movie Firefox were taken entirely from the book of the same name by Craig Thomas which was written by the time of the Belenko defection in 1976, there wasn't time to base the story on this defection, it was just a coincidence.

Originally posted by waynos
The plot and storyline for the Clint Eastwood movie Firefox were taken entirely from the book of the same name by Craig Thomas which was written by the time of the Belenko defection in 1976, there wasn't time to base the story on this defection, it was just a coincidence.

The Clint Eastwood move was done years later in 1982. As stated above the Belenko case appeared to be a springboard for novels subsequent to 1976. The Craig Thomas book was published in 1977, and regardless of whether it is derivational in some sense or independently arrived upon as a novel. Art imitates life one way or another so one could be open to all possibilities here. Did Firefox inspire Belenko or vice versa? Well who can really know for sure these days, when Clancy's books seem to come true and you can watch the Lone Gunmen pilot episode for clues on 911.

Originally posted by Browno
Is it true that an undercover soviet spy broke into Edwards AFB/Groom Lake and stole a black project aircraft?

No, Not even close! The story is loosly base on a Top Secret CIA project to steal a Mig from Russia. I think the real plane might have been a Mig 23, but I'm not sure.

Tim