been four Nudel'man Suranov NS-23 autocannon mounted in the nose, each with 150 rounds per gun (rpg), and a remote controlled tail barbette, armed with a pair of Berezin B-20 autocannon also equipped with 150 rpg. The design team considered several variations, the first of which was two Nudel'man Suranov NS-23s with 150 rpg and a Nudel'man Suranov NS-45 autocannon with 45 rounds in the nose of the aircraft and a pair of NS-23 in the tail barbette. The second alternative consisted of two Nudel'man Suranov NS-37 and a Nudel'man Suranov NS-57 autocannon in the nose. A single hardpoint under each wing could carry a single bomb or a drop tank carrying of fuel. Despite reports that a prototype began taxiing tests on 30 June 1948, it is now clear that no prototype was actually built and that only manufacturing of the tailplane may have begun. Variants I-212: Initial version, never built. I-213: Proposed heavier version with more fuel and only two forward-facing NS-23s and a single NS-23 in the tail barbette. I-214: Proposed version with the tail barbette replaced with a rearwards-facing radar and heavier forward-facing armament. UTI-212: Proposed training variant of the I-212 with both crewmen facing forward. Specifications (I-212 (estimated)) See also References Citations Bibliography Gordon, Yefim & Kommissarov, Dmitry. Early Soviet Jet Fighters. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2014. . Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995. London: Osprey, 1995. . Alekseyev aircraft 1940s Soviet fighter aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of the Soviet Union