Ivan Mikoyan was twice awarded the USSR State Prize for creating the MiG-29
Ivan Mikoyan, the MiG-29’s co-designer and Artem Mikoyan’s nephew, passed away on November 25, 2016, at the age of 89. According to RT.com, Mikoyan worked as a lead engineer at the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG design bureau for the majority of his career. This company was founded by his uncle Artem Mikoyan.
He began working for OKB (a transliteration of the Russian acronym “Опытное конструкторское бюро” – Opytnoye Konstruktorskoye Buro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau) MiG in 1953. He held various positions there, including assistant chief engineer, chief engineer for flight tests, and leading designer for the MiG-21. He was designated chief designer of the MiG-23 in 1965, and technical head of joint state tests in 1968. Ivan served as the MiG-29 fighter aircraft’s deputy chief designer beginning in 1973. Later, he worked as a consultant for the MiG Russian Aircraft Corporation. In recognition of his work on the MiG-29, Ivan Mikoyan twice earned the USSR State Prize.
The F-15 and F-16 were part of a new generation of American fighters that prompted the development of the MiG-29. This dual-purpose aircraft, built as an air defense fighter, also had a ground attack capability. The Frontal Aviation Regiments of the Soviet Air Force commissioned OKB MiG to build a “frontal” or tactical fighter. The MiG designers began developing the MiG-29 in the early 1970s using all the technical information that was available about the most cutting-edge Western aircraft, and the first prototype made its first flight on October 6, 1977.
The new fighter was discovered by American reconnaissance satellites in November 1977, and NATO gave it the name “Fulcrum.” In 1982, the MiG-29 was put into service. Since then, more than 1,600 Fulcrums have been built and sold to at least 30 different nations.
Photo by TSGT MICHAEL AMMONS / U.S. Air Force