The American Sidewinder missile was unlike any other at the time. The Soviet Union and China envied the weapon’s capabilities, as it allowed a U.S.-armed Taiwan to successfully take down MiG fighter aircraft by the end of 1958
However, their jealousy did not last long after one of the American-made missiles failed to detonate when it met a Chinese plane. Safely lodged intact and sticking out of the fuselage, the Sidewinder would soon be delivered to the Soviets. By reverse-engineering the weapon, the USSR would make it accessible to the Warsaw Pact, enraging the Americans.
Not content with their initial intellectual theft, the Soviets would later launch a daring espionage mission to avoid inventing upgrades to the missile themselves...
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Dark Docs brings you cinematic short military history documentaries featuring the greatest battles and most heroic stories of modern warfare, covering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and special forces operations in between.
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