The only means of delivering an atomic bomb in the 1940s were heavy bombers, so as early as 1947, the experimental aircraft construction plan included tasks for designing all-weather jet interceptor fighters. Such tasks were assigned to P.O. Sukhoi, A.I. Lavochkin, and A.I. Mikoyan. At the same time, the development of onboard interception and targeting radars began. The USSR already had meter-band airborne radars of the "Gneiss" type, but to improve range and targeting accuracy, a transition to the centimeter band was planned. The first such domestic radar, "Thorium," had a movable parabolic antenna and was supposed to provide detection of an aircraft like the American heavy bomber B-29 at a range of up to 12 kilometers. Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin's project received the factory code La-200. Taking into account the customer's wishes, the crew consisted of two people—a pilot and a radar operator—seated side by side in a two-seat cockpit. The design adopted placed two RD-45F engines in the fuselage, one behind the other. Resembling the Su-15 layout, it had an important feature: the La-200 had a smoothly contoured fuselage with a circular cross-section, without the characteristic step for the front engine found on the Su-15 and the I-320. The nozzle was positioned at an angle to the aircraft’s axis and covered by a small fairing. A wing sweep angle of 40 degrees was adopted, and the RD-45F engines were replaced with more powerful VK-1 engines. The La-200 interceptor fighter was distinguished by the presence of new radio-technical equipment: the onboard "Thorium-A" radar, the "Magnesium-M" radar identification friend-or-foe interrogator, and the "Barium-M" responder, which were used for detecting and identifying aerial targets ("friend or foe") and for carrying out attacks on the enemy. The ARK-5 automatic radio compass, the RV-2 low-altitude radio altimeter, and the "Materik" blind landing system were intended to ensure reliable aircraft navigation in any weather conditions during solo flights; together with the radar, they could also provide for group flights. There were structural innovations—thermal anti-icing devices for the leading edges of the wings, tail surfaces, and intake ducts, operating by diverting hot air from the engines. The main landing gear, with paired wheels mounted on lever struts, retracted into the fuselage, leaving the wing aerodynamically "clean" and uncompromised by wheel wells.It required an increase in the power of the pneumatic and hydraulic systems, the introduction of booster control, a significant increase in the power and expansion of the capabilities of the electrical system, and the appearance of a high-voltage AC onboard network. Factory flight tests of the La-200 aircraft began on September 9, 1949. The test flights of the La-200 were conducted by test pilots S. F. Mashkovsky and A. F. Kosarev. Initially, a mock-up radar was installed on the aircraft. At the first stage, the La-200 demonstrated excellent speed and rate of climb characteristics: the maximum speed was 1,090 km/h at an altitude of 3,500 meters, the time to climb to 5,000 meters was 2.35 minutes, to 10,000 meters—5.85 minutes, and the service ceiling was 15,200 meters. The La-200 aircraft was a successful jet loitering interceptor and left a good impression. However, the Yak-25 aircraft, built according to a different design and taking into account the latest achievements in domestic engine building, went into serial production. A very complex, well-designed, and richly detailed model with “all the bells and whistles” for intermediate and experienced modelers.
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