“I began a turn to starboard and got a visual on the target, which the controller ordered me to identify. I recognized it as a USAF Boeing RC-135V flying steadily northwards,” Lt. Col. J.O. Laukkanen, former Ilmavoimat MiG-21 pilot
As aircraft performance and combat capabilities advanced rapidly, the Finnish Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) soon sought to modernize its fleet with a genuinely supersonic aircraft.
The USSR had voluntarily given up the Porkkala naval base in 1956 as a goodwill gesture, but by the early 1960s, as relations with the West worsened, it felt compelled to exert political pressure to safeguard its ties with Finland. Directly due to this Soviet pressure, the MiG-21 was acquired for the Ilmavoimat in 1962, and in the following year, Soviet pilots delivered 20 MiG-21F-13s to Rissala.
The majority of these aircraft were assigned to Hävittäjälaivue 31 (HävLLv 31—fighter flotilla 31), but since the Ilmavoimat could not put all of the new airframes into service, six were transferred to Luonetjärvi for storage. These stored aircraft were later used to establish the Tiedustelulentolaivue (TiedLLV—reconnaissance squadron) at Luonetjärvi in the early 1970s.
In the summer of 1973, HävLLv 31 conducted the first squadron exchange visit to the USSR, traveling to Kubinka air base, which also operated the MiG-21. These exchange visits continued over the next twenty years, with hosting duties alternating between the USSR and Finland. The first Soviet visitors arrived at Rissala in 1974 flying MiG-21bis aircraft, and in subsequent years, MiG-23 and MiG-29 units of the VVS also visited. The MiG-21F was phased out in 1980 and replaced by the improved MiG-21bis.
Lt. Col. J. O. Laukkanen, a former Ilmavoimat MiG-21 pilot, recounts an unusual intercept that occurred on Jan. 27, 1989, in Michael Napier’s book In Cold War Skies: NATO and Soviet Air Power 1949–1989:
“It was another busy day at the Finnish Air Force Flight Test Centre at Halli, where, other than test flying, we also covered QRA, normally a task for fighter squadrons.”
“After lunch, it was my turn for a 15-minute readiness alert duty. Besides wearing normal flight gear and an immersion suit, I also wore a pressure suit, which would allow me to climb to 50,000 ft with a normal flying helmet. My aircraft was a MiG-21BIS (serial MG-133); the cannons were armed with live ammunition.”
“At 13:00 hrs, the fighter controller ordered me to cockpit readiness for a possible identification mission, and 6 minutes later, I was ordered to scramble. After a fast start-up, lineup on the runway, and afterburner take-off, I became airborne at 13:08 hours and headed southwest while climbing to 33,000 ft in military power. I was then instructed to hold in a racetrack pattern over the sea, south of Åland.”
“After some 10 minutes of holding, the controller directed me to the south-southwest and informed me that a target was approaching from some 155 miles away. With my radar switched off, the controller vectored me to intercept the target. I began a turn to starboard and got a visual on the target, which the controller ordered me to identify. I recognized it as a USAF Boeing RC-135V flying steadily northwards. I reduced speed and formatted off its right wing and checked the fuselage number. I remained in formation as it headed north, which was homebound for me.”
“A short time later, the fighter controller informed me of two targets approaching fast from behind; I figured on them being either Swedish Viggens or Soviet MiG-23s. Then the RC-135V turned away, back south.”
“By now, I had been airborne for an hour, and my fuel state was approaching ‘Bingo’, but I continued in the direction of Halli; a diversion to Turku or Pikkala would be possible. Over Turku, I still had 800 liters, and with clear skies over mainland Finland, I calculated that I could just make it all the way to base. Passing over Pirkkala, I initiated an idle descent and at 14:38 hrs made a smooth landing at Halli. I checked my fuel status: 450 liters remaining, just 50 liters above the minimum-landing amount of 400 liters.”
NATO and Soviet Air Power 1949-1989 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Finnish Air Force and U.S. Air Force
