Project 701

The EDO "MIG" Project 7.01 (Project 701) was a heavy and stealthy interceptor intended as a replacement of MiG-31 and MiG-31M. It is speculated that both the "MiG-39" 1.42 and much larger 7.01 had similar origins derived from a MiG-31 Foxhound based canard-delta platform. The aerodynamic scheme is a single-keel duck with a wing of variable sweep and PGO on the front edge. The placement of weapons is internal. The heavy aircraft had to cover 11,000 km without refueling and catch up with any American scout, that is, develop a speed of up to 5,000 km/h. The design wsa "tailless", with a row arrangement of pilots. The engines were located above the fuselage (the air intake with a vertical wedge).

In the 1980s, the development of the the MIR project (Multifunctional Long-Range Interceptor) of Project 7.01 was conducted at the MiG Design Bureau. At approximately the same time as the development of the MFI project of the MFI (1.42), the work on the TIR project (Multifunctional Long-Range Interceptor) was started to replace the MiG-31 interceptor. Later, the TIR became known as item 7.01. Like its predecessor, the task of the TIR was to patrol and protect the long borders of the USSR with a high degree of autonomy. It was supposed to make a significant step from the MiG-31 in the TTX of this aviation complex.

The normal take-off mass was to be 70 tons, which is 1.8 times more than the MiG-31. From the 31st it was supposed to be a huge flight range of 11 000 km. This aircraft was created just like the MiG-31 to cover the extended state border beyond the Arctic Circle, in those places where it is impossible to build or place the necessary number of runways for this class of aircraft. Accordingly, the cost of such an aviation complex was very high.

Some sources report it was cancelled in the mid-1980s in favor of the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker, but this makes not much sense. In 1991 implementation of the program, suspended due to lack of funding. And in 1993 the project was closed. Not even a prototype was built. In 1993, in an attempt to save the project, version 7.01P was being worked out - a supersonic intercontinental airplane of business class.

The MiG-1.44 was a little more lucky. A multi-purpose front-line fighter of the fifth generation: it was created in a single copy. But in the end it also became the property of history - it never flew - the project was closed in 2000, after it became clear that the fighter of the fifth generation would be with Sukhoi.

It is planned to keep the upgraded versions of the MiG-31 in service until 2025, when they are replaced by an MFI class aircraft. The details of the project are still unknown.