Yakovlev Yak-141
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Template:Cleanup-date The Yakovlev Yak-41 (NATO reporting name Freestyle) was a supersonic VTOL fighter aircraft from the Soviet Union. Although it never entered operational service, some of its advanced technology will see application on Lockheed-Martin's F-35 fighter.
The Yak-141 (development prototype of Yak-41) is, bar the 1960s prototype Dassault Mirage IIIV, the only supersonic VTOL aircraft. The British Hawker-Siddeley P.1154 supersonic version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier project was cancelled as part of the massive defence cuts of 1960s before a prototype could be built.
The program was initiated in 1975 as the Yak-141, a development of the Yak-38. The first conventional flight of the Yak-41 was accomplished on March 9 1987 and the first hovering flight on December 29 1989. The Yak-41M designation was adopted around 1991 to reflect a shift to a multi-role configuration.
The VTOL ability is reached by a lift and lift/cruise engine whose configuration is similar to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Two lift jets are mounted behind the cockpit. In the horizontal flight, these are switched off. The main engine is installed in the rear fuselage area, with a swiveling nozzle and an afterburner. For hovering flight the exhaust gas jet is vectored downward around 90°. Use of the afterburner is necessary for vertical takeoff, which imposes serious limitations on the types of runway surfaces that can be employed.
The Yak-41M was capable of speeds up to Mach 1.7, and was claimed to have had a maneuverability comparable to the Mikoyan MiG-29. It was desiged for the Soviet Air Force (VVS, not for Soviet Navy (VMF), as the original Yak-41).
In August 1991 the program was stopped because of the shrinking military budget of the Soviet Union. The Yakovlev design bureau has attempted to generate interest in reviving the program, including the proposal for an advanced version known as Yak-43, but has yet to find interest.