By Kris Osborn, Warrior

Stealthy,ultra-fast and armed with anti-satellite missiles are a few of the characteristics associated with the mysterious Russian PAK DP MiG 41 interceptor fighter jet, a 6th-gen platform designed to destroy enemy fighters, reconnaissance planes, air defenses and ground formations.  Intended as a successor to the high speed MiG 31, the Mikoyan MiG-41 is intended to intercept hypersonic missiles as well, a task known to be extremely difficult for any weapons system to accomplish.

A Russian news outlet known as Izvestia states that the MiG-41 is being engineered to intercept hypersonic missiles by carrying a multifunctional long-range interceptor missile system that will “disperse several sub-missiles” in order to optimize the chances for a successful intercept.  However, destroying a hypersonic weapon from the air would require some kind of radar or EO/IR target tracking technology capable of sustaining a continuous track on a maneuvering weapon traveling at hypersonic speeds. Surely the claim sounds ambitious, yet potentially feasible were the aircraft networked with satellites and other air-and-ground-based sensors. Given the speed with which a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle will transit from one radar aperture or field of view to another, it would seem that any kind of successful air-launched counter-hypersonic interceptor missile would need high-speed, long-range networking and targeting technologies. A hypersonic weapon, particularly a glide body or Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, will not follow a traditional “parabola like” ballistic missile trajectory but will instead maneuver in unpredictable ways. 

Does the MiG 41 Exist? 

The operative question, however, is does this plane yet exist? If so, when might something emerge? Answers to these questions can be difficult to discern to some extent, yet numerous reports in recent years have specified that indeed development of the aircraft has “begun,” with notional arrival times being cited at late 2020s or 2030s.  In January 2021, Rostec Corporation, the owner of Mikoyan, announced that the PAK DP had entered the development phase

Producing the MiG 41? 

Russia is certainly well known for its ability to enterprise and engineer new generations of weapons and advanced technology, yet producing them at any kind of an impactful “scale” have proven elusive in recent years. Perhaps the best evidence of Russia’s struggle with weapons production is evidenced in its 5th-generation Su-57.  Russia has had financial, logistical and manufacturing problems building any kind of an impactful Su-57 force. Therefore, even if the Su-57 could compete with the US Air Force F-22 and F-35, it does not exist in sufficient numbers to present a credible threat in a great power warfare engagement.  Sukhoi has been under contract to build 70 new Su-57s for several years, and it's unclear how many of them have actually been built. 

Flight Global’s “World Air Forces 2024” directory lists 14 Su-57s as active and another 62 as on order, according to a 2024 essay by CNN.  There is much speculation regarding the reasons for Russia's production problems, which appear to be related to supply-chain problems, budget challenges and simple manufacturing capability. 

Can MiG-41 Exist? 

It seems there are two key trajectories or areas of focus of relevance to the MiG-41, with the first one being purely technological. How mature is the hypersonic-missile interceptor system? To what extent has it been tested and what kind of networking, sensing and targeting is integrated into the system in order to enable successful intercept of hypersonics. Secondly, there is a question of practical relevance, meaning should the technology actually operate as intended, can it be produced at scale? It seems realistic that Russia’s budgeting and manufacturing problems with advanced aircraft would not be limited to the Su-57 but also potentially imperil the MiG-41 as well.  Any production plans or variables would only become relevant if an aircraft, demonstrator or prototype actually “existed” and was capable of reaching the performance parameters or ostensible technological capabilities associated with the aircraft. 

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University