Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150

The Mikoyan‑Gurevich Ye‑150 was a experimental Soviet fighter‑interceptor built in the early 1950s by the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG. Conceived by Artem Mikoyan’s design bureau as a high‑altitude, high‑speed platform, the Ye‑150 was the first of a series of “Ye” prototypes that explored mixed‑power and ram‑jet concepts. Powered by a single Klimov VK‑1 turbo‑jet augmented by a small auxiliary rocket motor, the aircraft could reach speeds beyond Mach 1.1 at altitude and featured a streamlined fuselage, swept‑back wings, and an early radar system housed in the nose for all‑weather interception. Although only a handful of prototypes flew, the program yielded valuable data on aerodynamic heating, inlet design, and weapons integration that directly influenced the development of the MiG‑17 and later the highly successful MiG‑19. The Ye‑150 demonstrated the Soviet Union’s rapid transition from straight‑wing pistons to swept‑wing jet combatants, marking a pivotal step in Cold‑War aviation. Its legacy endures as a testbed that helped shape Soviet fighter doctrine and accelerated the adoption of supersonic interceptors in the 1950s. The program ended in 1954 because of engine reliability problems, but the aerodynamic lessons and rocket‑assist concepts fed directly into later Soviet fighter designs, such as the MiG‑23.

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG

Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150

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Design & Classification