Russia’s MiG 1.44 Stealth Fighter Was a Grand Failure

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Key Points: The Mikoyan MiG 1.44 was Russia’s ambitious attempt to develop a fifth-generation stealth fighter to rival the F-22 and F-35. Designed during the 1980s Cold War, the MiG-1.44 promised MACH 2.35 speed, advanced avionics, supercruise capabilities, and cutting-edge weaponry.

-However, post-Cold War economic decline and insufficient resources hindered the program, leaving it stuck at the prototype stage before its cancellation in the 1990s. Despite its failure, the MiG-1.44 provided valuable research for future stealth aircraft like the Su-57.

-Had Russia succeeded, it could have dramatically altered the global air power balance.

MiG 1.44: Russia’s Failed Stealth Fighter That Could Have Changed History

The Russian military would always have a problem after the Cold War ended. When the Soviet system fell apart, numerous defense programs languished due to a lack of money and personnel to work the production lines. 

Many pieces of military hardware just died on the vine. Perhaps if the Soviet Union remained intact, the Russians would have had some awesome warplanes that would have challenged the United States and NATO allies.

What Is the MiG Project 1.44?

One Cold War and post-Cold War program you may not have heard of was the Mikoyan MiG Project 1.44.

This would be a fourth-generation plus or even a fifth-generation airplane that would have beaten the F-35 and F-22 to the punch. It ended up being a mess and failing. 

More About the Historical Era

Allow some context to remind you of the high stakes in the 1980s. 

Ronald Reagan had engineered a substantial military build-up. The F-14 Tomcat, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the F-15 Eagle dominated the skies. 

Reagan even hatched his famous Strategic Defense Initiative or the “Star Wars” program that would use lasers from “killing platforms” to blast Soviet ICBMs before they could land in America. This program and the huge U.S. defense budget scared the Soviets. 

The Russians would need a new fighter to keep up, and the MiG 1.44 was designed to deliver an airplane that would change the equation and give the Soviets something to write home about.

American Competition for a New Stealth Fighter

Meanwhile, the Americans were not satisfied with their non-stealth jets. 

They created a new program called the Advanced Tactical Fighter Project.

 This would aim to deliver a supersonic radar-evading fighter with better performance and specs than the existing non-stealth models. 

The Russians knew of the ATF project’s competition between the stealth Northrop YF-23 and the Lockheed YF-22. 

The Kremlin’s intelligence analysts were alarmed, so high command sent a message to the air force. It was time to catch up and catch up fast.

Fast and Stealthy Russian Fighter

After several early programs with various problems, the Kremlin settled on Project MiG 1.44. 

Russian designers and engineers wanted a stealth warbird with incredible MACH 2.35 speed, avionics that was out of this world, and supercruise capability.

MiG 1.44 was meant to build a technology demonstrator and prototype that would usher in the era of super-fast stealth flight that would be better than what became the F-22 and the F-35. 

The MiG-1.44 had a wide assortment of modern munitions, including advanced air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and the best precision-guided bombs the Russians had to offer.

Beating the F-22

They built the prototype in 1994. This was a massive boost to the Air Force’s morale. 

Could they place the technology demonstrator into a phase where the airplane could enter serial production by 2000? 

That would mean the Russians would leap to a fifth-generation fighter before the F-22 entered mass production.

MiG 1.44 Goes Down

Unfortunately, the Kremlin ran out of funds to keep MiG 1.44 in business. 

The technology demonstrator failed to grow past the prototype phase, and the program was canceled.

Russia’s defense industry was behind the United States at the time, even though America was going through its budget cuts and reductions in force. 

The end of the Cold War hurt the Russian military, and there wasn’t enough money and brainpower to keep experimental airplane projects running after the Soviet Union disintegrated.

So, Vladimir Putin inherited a defense industry that was struggling. Land warfare wasn’t going well in Chechnya, Russia had domestic terrorism from Islamist militants, and the Russian navy was neglected. 

Research and development data from Project 1.44 was available for future Su-57 and Su-75 stealth fighters. 

Russian engineers could take test and evaluation results from the experimental airplane and help develop those stealth models. Still, overall, Project 1.44 was mainly a failure, and it was not surprising that it was canceled due to a lack of funds and the post-Cold War military decline. 

It is good the Americans could advance further with the F-22 and F-35 because with a little more faith and money, the Russians could have made a stealth fighter in the early 2000s, and the air force could have achieved air superiority in the war in Ukraine to change history.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.