It is unlikely that the Russian fifth generation fighter, which is being worked on at the MiG design bureau (KB) (in the process of merging with the Sukhoi), will make its first flight by 2025, the American edition of The National Interest said.
“Is the Russian secret stealth fighter MiG-41 real?” – ask the question in the publication, doubting that this aircraft will replace the MiG-31 even by the end of this decade.
The magazine writes that reports about the start of work on the MiG on the creation of a fifth generation fighter began to appear several years ago. The publication notes that, according to the plans of the design bureau and press reports, the new aircraft will be inconspicuous and capable of reaching speeds close to hypersonic.
“The Russian aerospace sector may just be busy with a host of other projects, including the development of [the current Russian fifth generation fighter] Su-57 and the modernization of aging bombers,” the magazine writes.
In February, military expert Pyotr Butovsky said in the pages of the American magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology that Russia is not capable of independently creating a promising long-range intercept aircraft complex (PAK DP), known as the MiG-41.
Thus, the expert commented on the January statement of Rostec about the launch of the development process for a new generation fighter-interceptor.
In December 2017, Viktor Bondarev, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, former commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), said that the MiG-41 would be able to fight hypersonic missiles and would be the fastest aircraft of this class in the world.
