MiG

MiG is a brand name for fighter aircraft. It originates from the two Soviet designers Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, who founded a joint design bureau in 1939. The initial letters of their surnames, combined with the Russian word for “and”, form the abbreviation MiG. The name is always followed by a number, such as MiG-21 or MiG-29, which designates the respective model. These aircraft were built primarily for the Soviet Union and for states allied with it. The company still exists today and belongs to the Russian state-owned aviation conglomerate.

Why the name still makes headlines today

MiG aircraft were built in enormous numbers. Of the MiG-21 alone, more than 11,000 units were produced, more than any other supersonic fighter jet in history. They were delivered to or built under license in around 60 countries. That is why aircraft of this type can still be found flying in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe today.

During the Cold War, MiG was also a political symbol. In the West, the name served as shorthand for the air forces of the Eastern Bloc, just as the American F-16 stood for the West on the other side. In the Korean War, American and Soviet-built jets clashed in large numbers for the first time. A section of airspace was nicknamed “MiG Alley” by US pilots at the time.

Today, the term mainly appears in connection with the war in Ukraine. Both sides deploy MiG-29s, since both air forces emerged from Soviet-era stocks. The German Bundeswehr also owned 24 MiG-29s from former East German stocks after reunification. Most of these were handed over to Poland in 2003 for a symbolic price.

What defines an interceptor

The classic MiG models were built for a specific task: interception. An interceptor takes off when an enemy aircraft is detected, rapidly climbs to high altitude, and attacks it. For this, it primarily needs acceleration and climb performance, not particularly great range. That is why many MiGs are small, lightweight, and have very powerful engines relative to their weight.

A second core principle was simplicity. The aircraft were meant to be maintainable even by minimally trained mechanics, if necessary at a field airstrip without a hangar. The MiG-29 even has closable air intakes so that no stones get sucked into the engine when taking off from unpaved runways. This ruggedness explains why these aircraft were so popular in poorer countries.

A common misconception is that every Russian fighter jet is a MiG. That is not true. The most important competitor is called Sukhoi, which builds models such as the Su-27 or Su-35. Sukhoi aircraft are usually larger, heavier, and have greater range. Since the 1990s, Sukhoi has largely overtaken MiG as the leading Russian manufacturer.

MiG outside of aviation

The name often comes up in contexts that have little to do with technology. In reports on arms deliveries, the number of MiG-29s handed over is a political point of contention. Decommissioned aircraft can be found in museums, for example at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum. And in films and video games, the MiG has been the standard enemy aircraft for decades.

On finance and business pages, the name appears in connection with the arms industry. MiG is now part of the United Aircraft Corporation, which also includes Sukhoi and civilian aircraft manufacturers. Reports on orders, sanctions, or production figures therefore concern the entire conglomerate.

Caution is needed with the spelling. “MiG” with a lowercase i refers to the aircraft manufacturer. Other abbreviations such as “MIG” stand for entirely different things, such as a welding process. The lowercase i is therefore not a typo, but part of the name.