The Mikoyan LMFS () Liogkiy Mnogofunktsionalniy Frontovoi Samolyet (LMFS)—or Light Multi-Function Frontline Aircraft, also known as the MiG-XX, was a proposed

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

Russian single-seat all-weather

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

multirole combat aircraft A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air def ...

. The design is derived from the company's PAK FA proposal, which was rejected in favor of

Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi ...

's, along with lessons learned from the cancelled Mikoyan MiG-1.42/1.44. It was supposed to replace the

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Suk ...

and

MiG-35 The Mikoyan MiG-35 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) is a Russian multirole fighter that is designed by Mikoyan, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Marketed as a 4++ generation jet fighter, it is a further development of th ...

and be a more affordable complement to the PAK FA, which became the

Sukhoi Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was in ...

. However, by 2021, the project was no longer under development, while Sukhoi unveiled its own LTS medium-weight single-engine

fifth-generation fighter A fifth-generation fighter is a Jet fighter generations, jet fighter aircraft classification which includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. these are the most advanced fighters in operation. The characteri ...

Background

In the 1990s, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in severe disruptions in funding for Russia's MFI (, ) fifth-generation fighter programme, which was being developed as the Mikoyan Project 1.42/1.44. Owing to high costs, the MFI was cancelled and a new programme for a more affordable multirole fifth-generation fighter, the PAK FA (, ), was initiated in April 2001 to replace the

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

and

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

. Mikoyan and Sukhoi submitted proposals, and the two companies differed in their design approach; Mikoyan's E-721 proposal was smaller at a normal takeoff weight of 16–17 tonnes (35,000–37,000 lb) and powered by a pair of 10–11 tonne (98.1–108 kN, 22,000–24,300 lbf) thrust Klimov VK-10M engines, while Sukhoi's T-50 would be comparatively larger and more capable, with normal takeoff weight goal of 22–23 tonnes (49,000–51,000 lb) and powered by a pair of 14.5-tonne (142 kN, 32,000 lbf) thrust Lyulka-Saturn AL-41F1 engines. The Russian Defence Ministry selected Sukhoi's proposal in April 2002. Despite not being selected, Mikoyan continued to develop its own proposal as the LMFS (, ) with its own funds.

Design

The aircraft was developed from Mikoyan's E-721. Developed by the

United Aircraft Corporation The PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) () is a Russian Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense corporation. With a majority stake belonging to the Russian government, it consolidates Russian private and state-owned Russ ...

(OAK), this

light fighter A light fighter or lightweight fighter is a fighter aircraft towards the low end of the practical range of weight, cost, and complexity over which fighters are fielded. The light or lightweight fighter retains carefully selected competitive fea ...

was believed to incorporate an 11-ton thrust VK-10M engine based on the RD-33MK-35 engine used by the

. This new updated engine would be manufactured at the

Klimov UEC-Klimov () is a Russian manufacturer of gas turbine engines, main gearboxes and accessory drive gearboxes for transport aircraft. Originally established as ''Kirill Klimov Experimental Design Bureau'' in Saint-Petersburg under the directio ...

factory. The engine is supposed to be fifth generation, utilizing the latest advancements in turbine and combustion chamber technology, and receiving only minor changes to the fan blades. The aircraft could have canard wings, internal weapons bays and an empty weight of roughly 33,000 lbs and a maximum takeoff weight of 55,000 lbs. It was possible that Mikoyan may revise the design into a single-engine configuration by using the

's next-generation izdeliye 30 engines, even though the latest

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

mock up of the plane shows a twin-engine aircraft .ПАК ФА Т-50
. Paralay.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-26.

Development

was developing the MiG LMFS out of its own funds, the Russian MoD preferring to wait for the

Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...

to enter serial production before starting to finance the construction of another smaller stealth fighter."Легкий истребитель 5-го поколения будет создан на базе технологий тяжелого перспективного истребителя (in Russian)".
''arms-tass.su.'' Retrieved: 26 January 2011. Indeed, Alexei Fedorov, President of Irkut, said that any decision on applying fifth-generation technologies to produce a smaller fighter, such as the MiG LMFS, must wait until after the heavy fighter

enters full production, which is due to happen in 2020. Since the MiG LMFS is not included in the Russia's state armament programme 2020–2027, UAC hoped that the export sales of MiG-35 and MiG-29 would be enough to help sustain the development of a new aircraft. In 2018, it was reported that, with the US decision not to export

F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warf ...

stealth fighters to Turkey anymore, Turkish authorities might decide to acquire instead the Russian

with Russia possibly sharing some of its technology to Turkey. If this happens, according to defence journalists, Turkey would perhaps in exchange share some of its TAI TF-X stealth light fighter technology to MiG, which might be used to help advance the development of the LMFS; the funds of a foreign co-investor being beneficial. On April 16, 2020, after a long hiatus,

announced on Twitter that MiG had restarted their research on a light fifth-generation stealth jet fighter. This new fighter is likely to support the Su-57 during missions. At the end of 2019, MiG placed an order for the aerodynamic calculation of a light multi-functional front-line twin-engine aircraft, comparable with foreign analogues, for the period 2020–25. The cost of work is estimated at 4 million rubles. The CEO of MiG, as well as Alexander Vatagin, the general manager of the engine manufacturer

, have said that the engines of this new MiG jet would be more powerful than those of the

Mikoyan MiG-35 The Mikoyan MiG-35 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) is a Russian multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter that is designed by Mikoyan, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Marketed as a Fourth-generation fighter, 4++ gener ...

. On December 20, 2020, the Head of the

Rostec State Corporation Rostec, formally trading as State Corporation "Rostec", fully the State Corporation for the Promotion of the Development, Manufacture, and Export of High Tech Products "Rostec" and formerly Rostekhnologii, is a Russian state-owned defense conglo ...

(which owns both

Mikoyan Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Begovoy District, Moscow. Mikoyan was the successor to the Soviet Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau (Ми� ...

and

) has announced that they were currently working ″to develop a combat aviation system of the future in its light and medium classes.″ He also stated that the company is currently working on the concept and the operational requirements of the plane, and that Rostec is doing this on their own initiative so far, without state budget funds. This advanced

is stated to be single-engine, with the option of being either crewed or uncrewed. That new aircraft, dubbed Sukhoi LTS "Checkmate", was later learned to be a new platform manufactured by

with the support of

and was unveiled at the MAKS 2021 Air Show. In July 2021, it was revealed that the MiG LMFS was not in development anymore, but that a new medium-weight single-engine

, known as

Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate (), also designated as the Light Tactical Aircraft (LTA; ), is a single-engine, stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Sukhoi Design Bureau also desi ...

, and based on years of research on the MiG LMFS and encompassing a lot of technologies from the

, was in development. It was unveiled at the MAKS 2021 Air Show.

Specifications (estimated)

''Note: Since the LMFS never went beyond the design stage, most specifications are estimated.''

References

External links