Higuchi , Hélio/Bastos Jr., Paulo Roberto Cuban MiGs. The Defenders of Castro's Air Force

The Defenders of Castro's Air Force

The Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria (FAR), one of the most powerful and little-publicised air forces in the Americas, had MiG fighters as its main fighter aircraft, both in the defence of Cuban territory against the threat of US invasion and in support of Cuban leaders efforts to export their revolutionary ideals.
The book casts an unprecedented look at the introduction and utilisation of all MiG models in Cuban service, since their arrival before the Cuban Missile Crisis, to current times, going through all of the conflicts in which Cuba was involved, from incidents with the Dominican Republic (Operación Pico) and the Bahamas, to its entanglements in wars in Vietnam, Syria, Guinea, Southern Yemen, Angola, Ethiopia and Nicaragua, and the recent apprehension of "export goods" to North Korea in the Panama Canal.
The story of military aviation in Cuba before the arrival of the MiGs is also briefly presented, from the beginning of their air corps and its role in the political crises that affected the country, in Castro's Revolution and the ill-fated attempted invasion at the Bay of Pigs, contextualising the times when they happened.
This is the result of extensive research using Cuban publications, documents, interviews with former pilots, historians and contributions by veteran Cuban airmen both in exile and residing in their homeland. The book is richly illustrated with over 170 photographs and colour profiles detailing the history of all twenty models of MiG fighters operated by Cuba from 1962 to the present.

The history of military aviation in Cuba prior to the arrival of the first MiGs is also briefly covered, from the beginnings of the Cuban Air Force and its role in the political crises that affected the country, through to Castro's revolution and the ill-fated US invasion attempt at the Bay of Pigs, placing the times at which they took place in context.
The work is the result of extensive research using Cuban publications, documents, interviews with former pilots, historians and contributions from former Cuban aviators living both in exile and in their homeland. The book is richly illustrated with over 170 photographs and colour profiles describing the history of all 20 MiG fighter aircraft operated by Cuba from 1962 to the present day.