The fate of the prospective MiG-41 interceptor directly depends on the preservation of MiG's independent design school. This was stated to "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy" by Nikolay Chikunov, a 1st category design engineer at the MiG Design Bureau.
According to him, there is a lot of speculation surrounding the project now, but he cannot disclose the specific technical characteristics of the aircraft. At the same time, the specialist confirmed that work on the prospective interceptor cannot be considered a fabrication.
If we talk about whether the MiG-41 developments are rumors, I can only say one thing – no. These are not just rumors.
Chikunov emphasized that the creation of an interceptor of this class is impossible without preserving a full-fledged design team. According to him, the development of the MiG-41 will require a design bureau comparable in scale, at least, to the current Sukhoi Design Bureau, and possessing an independent engineering school.
The specialist added that the prospective interceptor, based on existing solutions, must take into account fundamentally different requirements for design, power plant, and combat load.
Earlier, Chikunov noted that the MiG Design Bureau could lose up to 50% of its design staff if it merges with the Sukhoi bureau into a single operational-tactical aviation unit.