Soviet industrial espionage of Concorde facts for kids
Industrial espionage is like secretly trying to get someone else's ideas or plans. From 1959 to 1976, some people believe the Soviet Union tried to get secrets about the Concorde airplane. The Concorde was a very fast passenger jet built by France and Britain. Not all these claims have been proven. But, some documents from the companies building Concorde did end up in Soviet hands.
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The Race to Build a Supersonic Jet
The Tu-144 was another super-fast jet built by the Soviet Union. It looked a lot like Concorde. It was designed around the same time. However, it was not a direct copy, as some people thought. The Soviet Union wanted their jet to be ready very quickly. This rush led to some attempts to get secret information about Concorde's technology. The fast timeline for the Tu-144's development caused problems later on. The jet was not fully ready. It only flew with passengers for a few months in early 1978.
Vasili Mitrokhin, a Russian agent who later shared secrets, had documents. These papers showed that information about Concorde had been obtained.
The Tu-144 broke the sound barrier on June 5, 1969. Concorde did the same on October 1, 1969. The Tu-144 then flew twice the speed of sound (Mach 2) on May 26, 1970.
Other Similar Soviet Airplanes
The Soviet Union had previously made airplanes that looked similar to British designs. This was not always linked to spying.
- Ilyushin Il-62 (January 1963) looked like the Vickers VC10 (June 1962).
- Tupolev Tu-134 (July 29, 1963) looked like the BAC One-Eleven (August 20, 1963).
- Tupolev Tu-154 (October 1968) looked like the Trident (January 1962).
People Arrested for Spying
Several people were arrested for trying to get Concorde's secrets.
- Sergei Fabiev worked with the GRU, a Soviet intelligence agency. He was arrested on March 15, 1977, at Orly Airport. He was about to board a plane. Messages from Moscow showed he had gotten all of Concorde's plans. On February 1, 1978, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
- Sergei Pavlov was watched closely by British and American intelligence. On February 1, 1965, Pavlov was meeting someone. He was arrested when he tried to leave a restaurant. He had blueprints for Concorde's landing gear and special brakes. He was sent out of France in 1965. He went back to Moscow and became a deputy minister for civil aviation.
- Jean Sarrady from Czechoslovakia was arrested in January 1966. This happened when he was pretending to be a Catholic priest. He was arrested by the Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST), a French security agency. He received four years in prison.
How Spying Affected the Tu-144 Design
The Tu-144 and Concorde were built differently inside. They had different structures.
The Tu-144 did not have special air currents over its wings. These currents help planes get more lift at slow speeds. Also, the Tu-144 did not have demonstration flights overseas. Concorde had these flights to show off its abilities. The Tu-144's engines were not tested in flight before the plane first flew.
The Tu-144 had a structural problem. This led to a serious accident during an international air show. The plane broke apart during a steep dive.
