The F-35B, the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) variant of the U.S. military’s Joint Strike Fighter, stands as the most advanced aircraft of its kind in existence today.
With no real competition from rival nations, the F-35B dominates the modern VTOL landscape. However, decades before its arrival, the Soviet Union made its own ambitious attempt to revolutionize VTOL fighter technology—one that, despite never reaching full operational status, may have shaped the US-made aircraft we see today.
This year marks 28 years since the Soviet-designed Yakovlev Yak-141, also known as the Yak-41, took its maiden flight.
A supersonic, multi-role VTOL fighter, the Yak-141 emerged in the late 1980s during the chaotic last days of the Soviet Union. The aircraft was envisioned as a breakthrough for carrier-based aviation, allowing Soviet forces to operate advanced fighters from smaller carriers and forward bases.
On March 9, 1987, the Soviet Union achieved a milestone in aviation history when the prototype of the Yak-141 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter took to the skies for the first time. Lead test pilot Andrei Aleksandrovich Sinitsyn guided the jet through its maiden flight.
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Yak-141
The journey to the Yak-141 had begun long before that flight. Since the late 1950s, the Yakovlev Design Bureau had been working on VTOL aircraft to give the Soviet Navy a fighter that could operate from carriers without long runways.
The first real attempt came with the Yak-36 in 1961, followed by the Yak-38, which entered production. However, by the early 1970s, it was clear that the Yak-38 was far from ideal. It lacked range, carried a small payload, and, crucially, had no onboard radar. The absence of these capabilities made it inadequate for frontline combat operations.
After that, Soviet leadership officially launched the development of a new aircraft on June 26, 1974. Initially, engineers planned to use a single lift-marshalling engine producing 15,000 kgf of thrust.
A full-scale mock-up was built, but during testing, it became evident that the design was nearly impossible to stabilize in vertical flight. The State Commission, after reviewing the results, reached the same conclusion.
As a result, Yakovlev engineers turned to a more complex combined propulsion system, drawing on lessons from the Yak-38. By 1975, the project was officially designated as the Yak-41, with an internal codename of “Item 48.”
In 1977, a government directive ordered the Yakovlev Bureau to develop the fighter while the Soyuz AMSTC was tasked with producing the powerful R79V-300 engine.
The trial deadline was set for 1982, but technological hurdles soon began to push the project off schedule. One of the biggest challenges was designing the aircraft’s rotary nozzle for vertical flight.
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Engineers initially explored a flat two-axis nozzle, but lacking experience in that area, they ultimately switched to a more conventional axisymmetric nozzle. To control thrust direction, an innovative three-segment rotating system was devised to allow the nozzle to pivot 95° for vertical takeoff and landings and 62° for short takeoffs.
This design also enabled afterburner use in both horizontal and vertical modes. However, this breakthrough came at a cost—delays continued to mount. By 1983, the deadline was officially pushed back, with an order on November 25 postponing state trials until 1985.
Engine tests finally began in 1984, but it wasn’t until February 1987 that the Yak-41 prototype was granted permission for its first flight. That same year, a second prototype was built, which began testing in 1989. Due to the prolonged development timeline, the aircraft’s designation was eventually changed to Yak-141.
A Supersonic VTOL Breakthrough Cut Short
The Yak-141’s journey from prototype to flight testing was filled with breakthroughs that could have reshaped the future of VTOL aviation. Its first flight took place on March 9, 1987, at Zhukovsky.
Nearly two years later, on December 29, 1989, the aircraft successfully completed its first hovering test. Then, on June 13, 1990, it accomplished a full transition from vertical to horizontal supersonic flight, an achievement no VTOL aircraft had managed before.
By April 1991, testing had moved to a mock aircraft carrier deck at the Saky Naval Aviation Training Facility. The trials were promising, with the Yak-141 demonstrating exceptional combat maneuverability.
During flight testing, the aircraft set 12 world records, solidifying its place as the first VTOL aircraft to achieve supersonic speeds in level flight, an accomplishment Yakovlev proudly highlighted.
The program reached a critical milestone on September 26, 1991, when the Yak-141 completed its first successful landing on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.
An hour later, the second prototype followed, proving the aircraft’s ability to operate from a carrier deck. Over the next several days, eight more takeoff and landing cycles were completed, reinforcing confidence in the design.
However, just days later, disaster struck. On October 5, 1991, one of the prototypes suffered a hard landing, rupturing a fuel tank upon impact.
Within moments, the aircraft was engulfed in flames, forcing the pilot to eject. While the damaged fighter was later salvaged and repaired for display, the accident greatly affected the program’s momentum.
At the same time, the Soviet Union was unraveling. Political instability and economic collapse left the Russian military in turmoil, and Yakovlev faced an uphill battle in securing funding for further development. With resources dwindling and priorities shifting, the Yak-141 program was officially suspended in October 1991.
Did Soviet VTOL Secrets Help Shape The F-35?
As the Soviet Union crumbled, so did its once-secretive military programs, but not before catching the attention of one of the biggest names in Western defense. Yakovlev, struggling to keep its Yak-141 VTOL fighter program alive, found an unexpected savior in Lockheed Martin.
As the relations between America and Russia started warming up, the American defense giant saw an opportunity not to revive the Yak-141 but to extract valuable data from the Soviet-era program.
In 1991, the two companies reportedly signed an agreement, though its details remained under wraps until 1995. Under the deal, Lockheed Martin provided funding for additional Yak-141 prototypes and even planned to showcase the aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow in September 1992.
However, Lockheed was unlikely to have any real interest in seeing the Yak-141 enter production. Instead, the contract likely served as a front to acquire crucial VTOL research data that Yakovlev had accumulated over years of development.
Lockheed wasn’t the only American entity eager to learn from Soviet engineering. A 1993 NASA document highlighted how, after decades of secrecy, once-classified military technology was suddenly on full display.
The document noted that Yakovlev was the only design bureau in the former Soviet Union with hands-on experience in VTOL aircraft, having developed both the Yak-38 and the more advanced Yak-141.
This treasure trove of data, collected through years of trial and error, likely shaped the propulsion systems of the modern F-35.
While the F-35’s overall design is distinct from the Yak-141, with different stabilization methods and an entirely separate aerodynamic profile, there is little doubt that insights from the Soviet VTOL program influenced its development, particularly for the F-35B, the VTOL variant of the Joint Strike Fighter.
In a twist of fate, the F-35, an aircraft that apparently owes part of its development to a Soviet VTOL program that never fully took flight, has become one of the most formidable fighters positioned against Russian and Chinese forces.
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