In the 1990s, Russia would produce an assortment of strange but interesting concept aircraft. Experimenting with forward swept wings to supermanoeuvrability, several designs would emerge inspired by Soviet-era concepts. One such design was the MiG 1.44. Originally a Soviet concept from the early 80s, it was drawn up as one possible answer to America’s new Advanced Tactical FighterThe Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a major United States Air Force procurement program initiated in the early 1980s to develop a next-generation ... More project.
In the 1990s, Russia would produce an assortment of strange but interesting concept aircraft. Experimenting with forward swept wings to supermanoeuvrability, several designs would emerge inspired by Soviet-era concepts. One such design was the MiG 1.44. Originally a Soviet concept from the early 80s, it was drawn up as one possible answer to America’s new Advanced Tactical FighterThe Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a major United States Air Force procurement program initiated in the early 1980s to develop a next-generation ... More project.
Ideally, the 1.44 would feature stealth coating, with good performance, high agility, supercruise, and an advanced avionics suite. In practice, what was achieved would go down as one, among many, interesting post-Soviet concepts that made it off the drawing board but never into production.
HISTORY
In the early 80s, the Soviets had formally adopted both the MiG-29 and Flanker. These aircraft had emerged from the Perspective Frontline Fighter Project— an attempt to match and outperform fourth-generation American designs, namely the F-15 and F-16.
At the same time these aircraft entered service, the Soviet government was already planning a new project to oversee the transition from fourth- to fifth-generation fighters.
In the early 80s, the I-90 project would commence. The goal was to develop a next-generation fighter, ready for use by the 1990s. It would be developed as a rival to whatever emerged from America’s Advanced Tactical FighterThe Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a major United States Air Force procurement program initiated in the early 1980s to develop a next-generation ... More project, as well as to Europe’s Eurofighter projectThe Eurofighter project was a collaborative European defense initiative launched in the 1980s to develop a highly agile, next-generation multirole fig... More.
While the American ATFThe Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a major United States Air Force procurement program initiated in the early 1980s to develop a next-generation ... More project – which would result in the Raptor – would emphasise reduced radar visibility to create an unmatched air dominance platform, the I-90 would instead focus on multirole performance, including standoff air-to-air and precision air-to-ground strike capabilities. As part of the project, proposals would be split into two primary groups: heavy multirole (MFI) and lightweight frontline (LFI) designs.
With the basic goals established, all three major Soviet aircraft manufacturers would submit proposals: MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More, YakovlevYakovlev Design Bureau (OKB-115) – A prominent Soviet/Russian aircraft design bureau founded by Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev in 1934, specializing i... More, and, later, SukhoiSukhoi – A prominent Russian aerospace and defense corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of military aircraft, particularly fighter a... More, each following slightly different design principles and having slightly different ambitions.
MIKOYANMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More DEVELOPMENT BEGINS
MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More would begin work on two concepts: a frontline lightweight fighter with multirole capabilities, and a dedicated multirole platform. Under increasing budgetary constraints, both designs would use common components whenever possible.
Thanks to a variety of issues, such as poorly implemented democratic reforms, economic pressure continued to mount. Hoping to see the project through to the end, regardless of political issues and projected economic instability, in 1983, the Soviet military consolidated the project into the Combined Task Program. Under this, MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More – who was now the primary contractor – would receive additional government assistance for research and development to offset rising costs.
Over the next four years, the preliminary designs would be ironed out. Initial proposals had drawn inspiration from the F-15 and Flanker; similar designs, both of which were believed by some in Russia to exemplify the ideal shape and form of a fighter aircraft, offering near-perfect balance between speed, agility, payload, and range, albeit without any real stealth capability.
In 1987, proposals for both the MFI and LFI were submitted for review. Heavily revised, they would bear little resemblance to the initial concepts. In an attempt to achieve good performance while also reducing radar cross-section, they would outwardly appear very unique. The designs would utilise a delta wing with electronic countermeasure units on the wingtips, full-span leading-edge flaps, and canards. The LFI proposal – sometimes referred to as Project 4.12 – would be a single-engine design, while the MFI would feature two engines.
On paper, the MFI, designated 1.42, had impressive specs based on initial wind tunnel testing. The shaping of both canards and wings would be paired with two-dimensional thrust vectoring engine nozzles and variable intake ramps. Due to low stability, the aircraft would be fitted with a fly-by-wire system. Altogether, this would- in theory – result in a highly agile fighter. The canards, wing, and tail would allow sustained high AOA manoeuvres up to 60 degrees, with minimal buffeting and good lift, while the intakes would adjust to maintain consistent airflow.
Shaping would supposedly lower the radar cross section, as would an internal weapons bay, radar-absorbent materials and coatings, and S-ducts. Alongside this, it was rumoured that an ionising system would be developed to further lower the cross-section, likely inspired by the plasma system tested on the A-12 under Project KEMPSTER.
Regardless of the intense scrutiny, MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More would nonetheless consolidate their efforts between 1987 and 1988 with high hopes for the program. The LFI project was scrapped, and with it the 4.12 proposal— an aircraft that, in retrospect, bore many similarities to the SAAB Gripen, which was drawn up during the same period.
Project 1.42 would become the sole focus for research and development. With the lightweight frontline design out, it would have to pick up the slack in air superiority. Given a similar, highly agile airframe, this wouldn’t be hard.
TECH DEMONSTRATOR IS BUILT
In 1988, the Soviet Air Force approved the design, and by 1990, a formalised design was presented and passed review. Thus, work would begin on a technology demonstrator. It would be built out of lightweight materials, including various alloys and composites.
With the new designation of Project 1.44, it would be assembled to test the flight characteristics and flight control system. With unstable flight characteristics, this was likely to be the most challenging step in the development process. In fact, at the same time, SAAB had encountered difficulties stabilising its own Gripen concept in the manner of the F-16.
Nonetheless, by 1991, work on a working demonstrator was underway when the project hit a wall. Predictably, the Soviet government was dissolved, and with it came massive turmoil in Russia, as the economy was privatised. All military projects were, to some extent, roadblocked.
MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More would continue building full-scale components using the equipment already machined, both for static testing and for the tech demonstrator itself, though the project had now slowed to a crawl.
In 1994, ground testing and high-speed taxi tests would begin; however, anything beyond this was limited. Realising the project was essentially infeasible, MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More first requested an increase in government funding, to no avail, and then, in 1995, a failed request to declassify the program. The MIG 1.44 was now, with zero real funding behind it, a dead end.
Similar financial issues had plagued SukhoiSukhoi – A prominent Russian aerospace and defense corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of military aircraft, particularly fighter a... More, whose own entry into the MFI project – known as the S-32 – had also failed to eventuate into anything beyond a tech demonstrator – the Su-47. With no future economic certainty for Russia, SukhoiSukhoi – A prominent Russian aerospace and defense corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of military aircraft, particularly fighter a... More had begun marketing off demonstrators for international sale, in a bid to stay afloat.
In the latter case, SukhoiSukhoi – A prominent Russian aerospace and defense corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of military aircraft, particularly fighter a... More would begin work on the Su-30 and Su-35, multirole and air superiority fighter concepts, respectively, for use both at home and to sell to foreign buyers. Other manufacturers would follow, working on proposals for export or on tech demonstrators that were produced within realistic budgetary parameters.
In arguably a worse financial position, MikoyanMikoyan (MiG) The Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, commonly known as MiG, is one of the most storied names in military aviation, specializing primarily... More hoped to market its designs as well. Another request to declassify the project was rejected in 1997. Finally, in December 1998, the project’s existence was revealed in a limited media release that included several photos. On January 12th 1999, the jet would be rolled out publicly, before journalists and Russian military leaders.
Then, a year later, on February 29 2000, the demonstrator would take its first flight, reaching a modest altitude of just over 3000 feet, lasting for a total of 18 minutes. This would be followed by a second flight on April 27th, lasting 22 minutes.
No other flights were ever publicly recorded after that, with the MiG being shelved, never to be a serious contender for the Russian Air Force. Instead, the MFI project would be superseded by the PAK FAThe PAK FA (an acronym for Perspektivny Aviatsionny Kompleks Frontovoy Aviatsii, or Prospective Aeronautical Complex of Frontline Air Force) was the R... More project, which would result in the SU-57.
CONCLUSION
Just how good the MiG 1.44 could have been remains a complete mystery. On paper, the aircraft would have boasted impressive specs, possessing a small radar signature, low infrared signature thanks to ceramic engine nozzle tiling, great speed and agility, a modernised cockpit, and a N014 PESA radar— reportedly capable of tracking 40 targets, or 20 in track while scan – at a range of around 160 miles for fighter-sized objects.
It would have featured a supercruise at Mach 1.5 thanks to variable-cycle engines, a top speed of Mach 2.35, and a predicted service ceiling of nearly 60,000 feet. What’s more, given that it was intended for V-PVOV-PVO (an abbreviation of Voyska Protivovozdushnoy Oborony, or Troops of National Air Defense) was a primary branch of the Soviet and later Russian Ar... More – or national air defence use – we can presume that long-range intercept capabilities would have been a priority.
Thus, while many have cast predictions on whether the MIG would have achieved these stated goals, the reality is that, as with so many late Soviet-era designs, financial constraints limited the possibility of achieving greatness. Drawn up by the same generation of engineers behind the Flanker and Fulcrum, we can assume that the 1.44 was more than vaporware.
Ironically, in the final analysis, the MIG 144 team may have actually had a more realistic outlook on fifth-gen fighters than even they themselves realised. While the ATFThe Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a major United States Air Force procurement program initiated in the early 1980s to develop a next-generation ... More project initially emphasised air superiority, it is multirole capabilities that have made platforms like the F-35 indispensable.
From Ukraine to the Middle East, it is multirole capable platforms – like the Hornet, Strike Eagle, SU-30, and now F-35 – that do practically all of the heavy lifting. So, while the MIG project itself wasn’t feasible, what its designers set out to achieve in a fifth-generation platform has turned out to be quite close to what we now use all the time in the F-35.
If nothing else, the MiG 144 – like most Russian tech demonstrators from the 90s – was an outside-the-box design, and a testament to the creativity and ambition of its designers as military aircraft moved into the era of fifth-generation fighters.
