In 1981, four arms traffickers flew a smuggling plane into Soviet airspace and brazenly provoked. Enraged Soviet pilots flew fighter jets and used "air ramming tactics" twice in a row, and in the end, the two planes finally died together!
In the shadow of the Cold War, the world is in a tense standoff. 1981, the year for the Soviet Union, was not only a critical period in political and military strategy, but also a window into technological and military power. Against such a background, any unauthorized violation of airspace was perceived as a serious provocation to the sovereignty of the USSR.
During this period, four arms dealers from different countries, it was against this background that a series of incidental and tense events became a footnote to history.
The beginning of this story stems from the greed of four arms dealers. When the Iran-Iraq war broke out, they saw huge profits from smuggling arms. The four, one from Britain and three from Argentina, flew a CL44 transport plane together and engaged in the illegal business of arms smuggling.
After completing an arms deal in Iran, they carried a large amount of cash and prepared to return to Cyprus. To evade surveillance, they cleverly painted the plane with the Aerolíneas Argentinas logo and flew along the border between Turkey and the Soviet Union in an attempt to fool them along.
This time, however, things didn't go their way. Due to the overexcitement of the pilots, their plane seriously deviated from the course and rushed headlong into the airspace of the USSR. Soviet radar systems quickly picked up the unauthorized intruder and preliminarily determined it to be a large reconnaissance aircraft. This caused a high degree of alarm among the Soviet military, which immediately ordered the 361st Fighter Aviation Regiment to send a Su-15 fighter to intercept it.
Senior Lieutenant Valentin Kulyabin, an experienced Soviet pilot, was assigned to this task. He quickly lifted into the air and soon caught up with the CL44 transport plane. In an attempt to resolve the conflict politely on initial contact, Valentin gave the smuggling plane a landing order through a radio channel.
The smugglers ignored this, and even when Valentin tried to send an international warning signal through the plane's wing-shaking maneuver, the smuggling pilots deliberately approached and tried to ram the Su-15 fighters, showing that they would not surrender easily.
In the atmosphere of the Cold War, where tension and uncertainty pervaded the Soviet Union and the Western world, every air violation was seen as a provocation to sovereignty, let alone a blatant arms smuggling operation. For Captain Valentin Kulyabin, the interception mission was not only a test of his flying skills, but also a challenge to his loyalty and determination. He was confronted by four arms traffickers determined to escape, piloted in a CL44 transport plane carrying not only a large amount of cash, but also a thirst for freedom.
At this critical juncture, Valentin's aircraft were not equipped with weapons for close combat, which was an important technical limitation. In most air combat, pilots can rely on on-board weapons, such as cannons or short-range missiles, to ensure the completion of the mission. However, Valentin's Su-15 fighter jets are armed only with medium-range air-to-air missiles, which are incapable of pursuing and intercepting low-speed, large targets. This technical limitation forced him to find other ways to force the transport plane to land.
The situation became more complicated as the smuggling planes attempted to escape. The Soviet command gave the order to open fire, an unusually grim decision that reflected a significant threat to national security from smuggling. But Valentin faced not only the pressure to execute orders, but also the technical difficulties of how to execute them effectively. He knew that even if a missile was launched, it would be difficult to ensure that it would hit the target accurately, let alone try to avoid unnecessary casualties.
In this situation, Valentin made a very adventurous decision - to use the tactics of "air ramming". This decision was undoubtedly out of desperation, but it also showed his commitment to the mission and confidence in his flying skills. He had to control his plane very precisely, ensuring that he was able to hit the transport plane with minimal risk in order to force it to land or at least lose the ability to fly.
Valentin adjusted his flight path, minimizing the distance to the transport aircraft while maintaining enough speed to make the impact. He is well aware that this high-stakes operation requires precise calculations and constant calm. Every second is full of tension, and he must make sure that his plane can reach the predetermined impact position at the last minute and not lose control or miss the target.
When Valentin's Su-15 fighter shortened the distance between the smuggling aircraft and the smuggling plane, he was engrossed in monitoring the dynamics of the target aircraft, looking for the best moment to collide. After one last precise adjustment, he decided to act. In an operation that only highly trained and experienced pilots could perform, he commanded his plane, launching a storm on the vertical tail of the smuggler.
At the moment of impact, the huge impact force plunged both planes into a brief chaos. The vertical tail of the CL44 transport aircraft was severely damaged, and the flight stability was significantly reduced. And Valentin's Su-15 fighter was also inevitably shocked, but with extraordinary skill and courage, he managed to maintain control of the aircraft and avoid further accidents.
However, the impact did not stop the smuggling plane, which continued to fly and escaped. This forced Valentin to act again, and he again adjusted the plane in preparation for a second, more decisive impact. This time, his goal is to directly influence the smuggling plane's ability to fly to ensure that it cannot continue to escape.
With the implementation of the second impact, the fate of both aircraft was finally sealed. The CL44 transport aircraft could not withstand more damage, began to lose altitude and eventually crashed on the territory of the USSR. And Valentin, although he successfully ejected and escaped, his plane was also damaged. Although the air duel ended with the death of the two planes, Valentin protected the safety of the Soviet airspace through his actions and demonstrated the courage and sacrifice of the Soviet pilots.
