The main problem of the prospective MiG-41 interceptor may lie in the changed requirements for combat aviation. This opinion was expressed to "Pervy Tekhnichesky" by Roman Gusarov, editor-in-chief of Avia.ru.
According to him, today it is unclear what task the new heavy fighter should solve, if Russian aviation already has the Su-57.
Is such a light aircraft needed and for what purposes? Today's air combat has changed: there is no more maneuvering combat. And the one with a more powerful radar and longer-range missiles is stronger.
Gusarov added that a modern fighter must detect the enemy earlier, hit it at a greater distance, and have a significant combat radius. These requirements, in his opinion, are more consistent with heavy machines – like the Su-57.
If there is a problem with funding and staff reduction, it means that the question is that for such a MiG Design Bureau, as it once was, large-scale, there are no tasks now. We need to offer something new.
Nikolai Chikunov, a Category I design engineer at the MiG Design Bureau, told "Pervy Tekhnichesky" that the future of the MiG-41 directly depends on the preservation of the bureau's independent design school.
In the event of a merger with Sukhoi into a single operational-tactical aviation unit, MiG risks losing up to 50% of its design staff.