[1] The development cycle was plagued with problems,[2][3] especially with the death of the star Soviet test pilot Valery Chkalov in one of the prototypes.

The I-180 represented a further development of the basic I-16 design in order to take advantage of the new radial engines coming into service.

It was designed to meet a requirement of the Soviet Air Force of January 1938 for a new interceptor aircraft with a radial engine.

The I-180 was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane aircraft of mixed construction with a duraluminum frame covered in plywood and fabric.

The main visual difference between the I-180 and I-16 was a new wing with a perpendicular straight leading edge, and an aerodynamically refined fuselage with a longer slim engine cowling.

[1] The new fighter was to be powered by an 820 kW (1,100 hp) M-88 engine, a development of the license-built Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major (known as M-85 in the USSR), and represented the next step in evolution from the 1937 I-165-11 prototype.

The only version of the M-88 available at the time used reduction gear requiring a very large propeller, at least 3.2 meters (10 ft 6 in) in diameter – massive for an aircraft that in layout and dimensions resembled an I-16 with an elongated nose.

Even before leaving the drawing board, the fighter had to be redesigned for an M-88R engine with reduction gear and a constant-speed propeller.

Chkalov apparently miscalculated his landing approach and came in short of the airfield but, when he attempted to correct, the engine stalled.

As the result of the crash, Tomashevich and several other officials, including Arms Industry Department director S. Belyakin, who urged the first flight, were immediately arrested.

Chkalov's son also claimed that a plot to assassinate his father had been brewing in the months preceding his death, but the circumstances of the crash make foul play unlikely.

Finally in April 1940, three aircraft designated I-180S were completed, these being similar to the I-180-3, but reverting to an open cockpit and the I-16 type wing structure.

The reason for this was a misconception of the Ministry of Aviation Industry, that radial engines in NACA cowlings were poorly suited for aircraft with top speeds of over 500 km/h (310 mph), owing to high drag.

Former government officials later admitted that the fascination with liquid-cooled engines stemmed in part from attempts to imitate the then state-of-the-art Messerschmitt Bf 109.

According to some recent historians, such as Mikhail Maslov, the cancellation of the I-180 was caused by personal and non content-related reasons and might be considered an error.