India, Sept. 21 -- As India bids farewell to its trusted old warhorse, the MiG-21, after six decades of service that included distinguished roles in the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars, it is worth recalling an unusual chapter in the aircraft's history. A film titled Steal the Sky, made in the United States in 1988, was based on the true story of Iraqi Assyrian fighter pilot Munir Redfa, who defected to Israel in 1966 by flying a Russian-made MiG-21 as part of Operation Diamond.
At the time, the MiG-21 was among the most advanced fighter jets in the world, and both the United States and Israel were eager to study its design and performance. Operation Diamond, reportedly conducted by Mossad, began in mid-1963 and culminated on August 16, ...