Adolf Tolkachev
The Soviet radar designer who gave the CIA six years of avionics secrets
Overview
Adolf Tolkachev spied for the CIA in Moscow from 1979 to 1985, passing research on radar and missile guidance worth billions in informed Western countermeasures. He insisted on dead drops and chided handlers when tradecraft lagged his risks. He was betrayed in part by Edward Lee Howard, a dismissed CIA trainee who sold what he knew to the Soviets. Tolkachev was arrested in 1985 and executed, and Howard fled to Moscow in 1986. The case reshaped handling of assets in Moscow.
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