What Does MiG Stand For On The Russian Fighter Jets?

When talking about fighter jets, the most common names that come to mind include popular American F-series planes such as the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, and the F-18 Super Hornet. These aircraft have proven their mettle on the battlefield and are widely considered to be among the best, most potent fighter jets ever made. Russia also has a long history of making formidable fighter jets, such as the MiG-15, the MiG-21, the Sukhoi Su-27, and the MiG-29, some of which were even feared by the American military during the Cold War. 

In fact, names such as MiG, Sukhoi, and Ilyushin — companies still going strong today — are usually the first to come to mind whenever there's a discussion about Russian military planes. While names like Sukhoi and Ilyushin are interesting in themselves, the name that has evoked particular interest from people in the West is MiG; primarily for its formidable jets but people are also interested in knowing what the three letters mean. As it turns out, "MiG" originates from its two leading designers: Artem Mikoyan, an aviation designer, and Mikhail Gurevich, an aeronautical engineer. In 1939, with the backing of Joseph Stalin, they established an independent design bureau dedicated to developing military aircraft. Their first collaborative creation was the MiG-1 fighter, where the "M" stands for Mikoyan, the "G" for Gurevich, and the "i" for the Russian word for "and." Thus, MiG is an abbreviation that symbolizes the union of two pioneering minds in Soviet aviation.

A quick answer is "yes," but the MiG planes manufactured and sold today are no longer made by an independent aviation company called MiG. In fact, MiG as a company lost half of its abbreviation (the "G") in 1978, following which the company was simply known as "Mikoyan". A more drastic change came in 2006 when many prominent Russian military aircraft makers, including Ilyushin, MiG, Irkut, Sukhoi, Tupolev, and Yakovlev, began consolidating, a process that was completed as recently as 2022. The company formed following this union is called the United Aircraft Corporation. It makes the latest generation of MiG fighter jets, but, as of 2025, the only aircraft that has the MiG tag is the MiG-35.

Unsurprisingly, the United Aircraft Corporation also has the right to use names such as Sukhoi and Ilyushin. Over the years, the UAC has also diversified into the manufacturing of traditional passenger airplanes. Some of the notable aircraft made by this Russian aviation giant include the MC-21-310 commercial passenger jet, the Sukhoi Su-57, the Su-75, the Yak-130 combat training jet, and the Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A heavy transport vehicle.