In the shadowy world of Cold War espionage and military technology, few programs were as tightly held-or as tactically revealing-as Project Have Doughnut.
This highly classified 1969 initiative, recently declassified and published in area51_50.PDF, unveils a monumental U.S. effort to evaluate the Soviet MiG-21 “Fishbed E” aircraft in tactical flight scenarios against various American fighter platforms. The effort spanned multiple Air Force and Navy squadrons and sought not just to dissect the MiG-21 technically, but to uncover the edge American pilots might need in real-world air combat.
🛩️ A Covert Look at the Enemy
At the heart of Project Have Doughnut was a Soviet MiG-21F-13-a widely exported jet considered the cornerstone of Soviet-bloc air forces during the Cold War. The U.S. acquired this aircraft via secretive foreign materiel exploitation channels, likely involving defectors or captures.
Evaluations were conducted by elite pilots under the management of the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. These pilots flew dozens of missions simulating air combat against American aircraft like the F-4 Phantom, F-105 Thunderchief, F-104 Starfighter, and F-111 Aardvark.
The findings were explosive.
🔍 Tactical Revelations
Among the many conclusions, the MiG-21 was described as an agile but flawed opponent. While it boasted impressive turn capabilities and compact maneuverability, it suffered from:
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Severe airframe buffet at speeds over Mach 0.98 below 15,000 feet
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Poor forward and rearward cockpit visibility, limiting situational awareness
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Excessive airspeed bleed-off in high-G maneuvers
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Subpar gun tracking due to pipper jitter and gunsight issues over 3 Gs
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Sluggish engine response, taking up to 14 seconds to reach full power from idle
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Directional instability during turbulent or high-G combat
Despite its limitations, the MiG was not to be underestimated. In the hands of an experienced pilot, it could perform abrupt maneuver reversals, and its smaller radar and visual profile gave it a stealth-like advantage in close-in fights.
🧠 Doctrine and Dogfights
One of the primary goals of Have Doughnut was to validate or revise U.S. air combat tactics. For each American aircraft, recommendations were drawn to optimize survivability and lethality against the MiG-21:
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F-4 Phantom: Dominate by vertical maneuvering and maintaining energy; avoid tight turns with the MiG
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F-105 Thunderchief: Use hit-and-run tactics; exploit the MiG’s speed limitations
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F-111 Aardvark: Avoid dogfights entirely; rely on superior speed and disengagement
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F-100 and F-104: Avoid prolonged engagements; use high-speed separation maneuvers
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F-5 and RF-101: Potentially effective in controlled engagements below Mach 1.2
The overarching conclusion was clear: disengage below 15,000 feet and exploit the MiG’s speed limitations.
💣 Design Secrets and Reverse Engineering
Pilots and engineers praised the MiG’s simplicity of design, low maintenance requirements, and effective corrosion-resistant coating. These insights influenced U.S. design philosophy in future aircraft, especially those intended for export or operated in austere conditions.
The 60-round 30mm cannon, while powerful, proved insufficient for sustained fire, and the missile system-based on early IR-guided Atolls-was seen as inferior to U.S. AIM-9 Sidewinders.
⚠️ A Program Cloaked in Secrecy
Labelled NOFORN-not for foreign dissemination-and protected under Espionage Act clauses, Project Have Doughnut’s very existence remained hidden for decades. Its operational name would go on to become part of a trilogy of reverse engineering and foreign evaluation programs, including Have Drill and Have Ferry, which focused on the MiG-17 and MiG-23 respectively.
The significance of these programs cannot be overstated: they shaped America’s air combat doctrine throughout the 1970s and 1980s, feeding insights directly into the design and training philosophy that birthed the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the TOPGUN program.
🏁 Legacy
Project Have Doughnut remains one of the most illustrative examples of Cold War military ingenuity, espionage, and operational planning.
It was a glimpse into the engine room of U.S. air power-the meticulous and often clandestine world of measuring your enemies not just by satellite or hearsay, but by flying their machines yourself.