Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs

by Steve Davies

From the mid-1960s until the end of the Cold War, the United States Air Force acquired and flew Russian-made MiG jets, eventually creating a secret squadron dedicated to exposing American fighter pilots to enemy MiGs. In this program, MiGs were secretly acquired and made air-worthy, before selected ace pilots were trained to fly the assets as they were flown by America's enemies. This book tells the fascinating story of the Red Eagles, using recently declassified information and firsthand accounts from the pilots who took part in the program.

502 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2023

About the author

Steve Davies is a military and commercial aviation photojournalist based in Cambridge, England. He began writing in 2001, and has since authored eight critically acclaimed books and co-authored four more. His freelance writing includes a plethora of articles penned for the world's leading monthly and quarterly aviation publications, and he has also worked on a range of aviation supplements that have sold millions of copies globally. He has worked as a subject matter expert for a range of military aviation documentaries commissioned by terrestrial television channels in the UK and North America, and by the History Channel. His photography has been used not only by the aviation press, but also by leading defense contractors and aviation corporations.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. A delightful look into the history of the 4477th TES and the CONSTANT PEG program. The last few chapters contained some really interesting tidbits on intelligence gathering and analysis of Soviet aircraft and doctrine at DoD during the Cold War, as well as what we know about post-1988 USAF activities with regards to foreign material exploitation (FME) of more modern Russian fast jets.

Rob ‘Z-Man’ Zettel’s book American MiG Pilot is coming out in February 2026 and should be a nice read to complement this work.

Red Eagles really increased my appreciation for the design philosophy behind the aircraft on the other side of the Iron Curtain. They were capable machines for their time even if intended to be employed very differently from aircraft in the West. I’ll definitely spend more quality time with the Soviet jets during future museum visits.