Ivan Mikoyan, Russian aircraft designer and one of the minds behind the MiG-29 fighter jet, the staple of the Soviet and Russian Air Forces, has died at the age of 89. Mikoyan spent the majority of his career as a leading engineer at the ‘MiG’ Aircraft Corporation’s design bureau, which was founded by his uncle Artyom Mikoyan.

• Twice awarded the USSR State Prize for the project of the multipurpose fighter jet, Mikoyan remained a company adviser right up until his death.
• The MiG-29 fighter jet (NATO reporting name of Fulcrum) and its various modifications were developed in the USSR in the 1970s.
• Its creators wanted to achieve reliability indicators superior to those that existed throughout the world at the time.

MiG-29 fighter jet

• To date, more than 1,600 MiG-29s of various modifications have been built. More than 800 jets of the type have been exported to some 30 countries.
  The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a twin-engine jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.
• Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter new American fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
• The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1982.
  The MiG-29 has been manufactured in several major variants, including the multirole Mikoyan MiG-29M and the navalised Mikoyan MiG-29K.
• The militaries of a number of former Soviet republics have continued to operate the MiG-29, the largest of which is the Russian Air Force.