The MiG 1.44 is a single-seat, twin-engine, advanced military aircraft demonstrator innovated by Mikoyan of the Soviet Union. The fighter was the result of a program to develop the Soviet Union’s first fifth-generation combat jet. Only one MiG 1.44 was manufactured, and it flew just two times.
The MiG 1.44 traces its lineage to the early 1980s when the Soviet Union learned of the American Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, an initiative that would yield the F-22 Raptor. The Soviets sought to produce a next-generation platform to counter emerging American military aviation threats that the ATF might yield. They undertook a project to build a supersonic, highly maneuverable, highly efficient, low observable (“stealth”) jet that could perform a variety of missions, including air-to-air and air-to-surface engagements, electronic warfare, and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) data collections.
The project, initially called “I-90” (1990s Fighter), was delayed repeatedly due to political upheaval and funding, but ultimately yielded a single operational prototype. Designated the 1.44, the jet took its maiden flight on February 29, 2000. The 1.44 made a second, and final, test flight a few months later, on April 27. The project was ultimately cancelled without any other flights performed.
The 1.44 design features a canard delta wing comprising a main delta wing and foreplanes just behind the aircraft’s bubble canopy. The foreplanes are optimized for extreme maneuverability, notably high-angle-of-attack performance. The aircraft also features twin vertical stabilizers and twin strakes. It measures 71 feet, 2 inches in length, stands 14 feet, 9 inches tall, and has a wingspan of 55 feet, 9 inches. It is powered by two Lyulka AL-41F afterburning turbofan engines, each of which generates up to 40,000 pounds of thrust with full afterburner. The MiG 1.44 has a range of 2,500 miles, a service ceiling of 56,000 feet above sea level, and a maximum speed of 1,540 miles per hour (Mach 2.4).
