Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-8

The Ye-8, first named MiG-23 before that number went to a different aircraft, was a Soviet supersonic jet fighter prototype meant to replace the MiG-21. Its air intake was moved under the fuselage, which freed the nose for a larger radar able to guide longer-range air-to-air missiles, and retractable canards beside the cockpit countered the shift of lift at high Mach numbers. A folding ventral fin kept the aircraft stable above Mach 1. Only two prototypes were built in 1960 and 1961 and flew in 1962. On 11 September 1962 the Tumansky R-21F-300 engine exploded at Mach 2.15 and injured test pilot Georgy Mosolov; development was abandoned.