Russia’s MiG-41 ‘Laser’ Fighter Jet and It Can Be Described in One Word

Starfighter: Russia has announced ambitious plans to develop the MiG-41, a sixth-generation “starfighter” with extreme speed, EMP attacks and laser weapons.

-Intended to replace the MiG-31 Foxhound, the MiG-41 was designed to reach near-space altitudes and exceed Mach 4. But while impressive on paper, these ambitions are widely viewed as unrealistic given Russia’s current military priorities and technological capabilities in Ukraine. limitations, especially in directed energy weapons.

-Some argue that Russia should focus its resources on feasible projects such as the Tupolev PAK DA stealth bomber rather than the speculative MiG-41.

Russia’s MiG-41: An Unrealistic Vision of the Sixth-Generation Starfighter

Russia wants The world knows that it is not affected by the West’s proxy war paid Between him and the NATO alliance over control of Ukraine. Recently, Moscow announced to the world that it is moving forward with the construction of a long-range strategic stealth bomber. Tupolev PAK also. Russian forces already have the world’s most advanced, working weapons arsenals of hypersonic weapons.

Now Moscow has announced that the Mikoyan Design Bureau plans to move forward with its radical new sixth-generation fighter jet. MiG-41.

MiG-41: Russia’s Last Starfighter

But descriptions of the MiG-41 do not seem to indicate a new, more advanced fighter jet for the Russian arsenal. They look and read like a starfighter out of Star Wars.

Russia wants these planes to hit enemy missiles with lasers.

Forget Russia doesn’t have It works with directed energy weapons. This is what Moscow wants. Moreover, Russia wants the aircraft to use electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons against its enemies.

Oh, and the bird will travel at speeds in excess of Mach 4.

Intended to replace the MiG-41 Russia’s MiG-31 “Foxhound”. Russian media sources, describing the development of this theoretically extraordinary bird, state that the plane will fly at altitudes higher than any fighter plane can fly. In other words, the Russians are sending this thing to the far reaches of space; that’s why I like to describe it as a “star warrior”.

Russian tactical thinking has gone beyond producing more kinetic fighter jets. At this point, the theoretical sixth generation fighter jet, which is completely imaginary, is intended to surpass its competitors. The weapons being developed for this experimental aircraft are not kinetic. It is intended to attack the advanced electronic operating systems of enemy warplanes.

EMP weaponslasers and navigating low Earth orbit are the big dreams of Mikoyan designers. Interesting.

These plans are also completely impractical.

Russia Should Not Take Imaginary Flights

Russians are in a situation that Vladimir Putin has repeatedly described:existential battle with Ukraine. He’s probably right. Therefore, all national resources were directed to winning the war.

And the Russians are winning, but the Russians are still limited by the reality of their national position.

In other words, the Russians need to focus on the practical and leave the construction of the wünderwaffe to the Americans, who have proven in every decade since the end of the Cold War that such fantastic systems are rarely worth the money and time spent on building them. .

Where Russia is right to spend its limited resources is on developing the aforementioned Tupolev PAK DA long-range strategic stealth bomber. This system will be decisive for Russia over time, especially if the Ukrainian War continues unabated for the next few years. But the MiG-41 is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. WeichertNational Interest national security analystis a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who contributes to The Washington Times, Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Creation: How the West Lost Ukraine, will be released on October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed on Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images courtesy of Creative Commons or Shutterstock. All photos are of various submarine styles.

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