During the early '50s, a design proposal for an upgraded MiG-15 was issued, titled the MiG-15bis (second). The primary upgrade was the new, indigenously developed engine. While the older Klimov RD-45 powering the original MiG-15 was great, it was a reverse-engineered copy of the British Rolls-Royce Nene and as such, had issues with quality and reliability due to the differences in metallurgy and production in the Soviet Union. As such, an in-house variant, named the VK-1, was developed to alleviate these issues, and was also given a larger combustion chamber and turbine, allowing greater induction and airflow in the engine. The MiG-15bis's new engine not only increased its dogfighting performance, but also its weight limits, allowing it to use newer unguided ground ordnance.

The MiG-15bis is one of the original Soviet top rank aircraft and was available even before the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. Nowadays, it serves as a further learning step from the previous MiG-9 and MiG-15, teaching players about advanced energy management techniques and trigger discipline, a skill required for almost all future Soviet jet fighters in the tech tree. Having the powerful VK-1 engine and strong firepower, the MiG-15bis shines with its overall performance against a majority of the jets it will face, though it still requires strong situational awareness to enemy missiles and utilization of strong trigger discipline and gun control for the tricky guns using a limited ammunition pool onboard. Alternatively, in full uptiers, it can form the backmarker of the team rather than the tip of the spear, picking off distracted targets and being able to fight back against even some supersonic jets in close-in dogfights. All in all, the MiG-15bis is a great upgrade over the baseline MiG-15, rewarding players who mastered and enjoyed the base model with a upgraded variant that is potent against threats it can face.