In 1960, a young engineer named Rolan Martirossov began a project with a team of 10 people to create a new type of aircraft—a single-seater, highly capable tailsitter for interception purposes.
After drafting the concept and conducting wind tunnel tests at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Pavel Sukhoi's team received official approval for the project.
The Sukhoi Shkval was designed as a twin-engined interceptor equipped with radar, two built-in aircraft guns, and side-by-side afterburner engines.
Four wings were fixed at the corners of the fuselage in a reclining X configuration (comparable to the fictional X-wing fighter from Star Wars).
To facilitate vertical landing, the entire ejection seat, along with the thrust lever and the side-stick, were pivotally mounted in the cockpit.
The cockpit section of Sukhoi Shkval was built, featuring the ground window and the swivel seat/instrument combination, and this functionality was tested and demonstrated multiple times.