The Junkers EF 128 was a high-performance jet fighter project conceived during the final stages of World War II. Developed by Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, the aircraft was submitted in February 1945 as part of the Jägernotprogramm, or Emergency Fighter Program, ordered by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). This program sought urgent, simplified interim solutions to counter Allied bombing raids. In March 1945, the RLM approved a development contract for the EF 128, selecting it alongside the Focke-Wulf Ta 183 for further advancement. Although construction plans were finalized by March 1945, the surrender of Germany in May 1945 halted all progress before a prototype could be built.
Technically, the EF 128 featured a highly unconventional tailless swept-wing configuration. The design utilized a mid-mounted wing with a forward-swept leading edge and a straight or slightly swept trailing edge, eschewing a traditional tailplane in favor of small control surfaces and fins located at the rear fuselage and wingtips. This layout was intended to reduce structural weight and drag. The aircraft was designed to be powered by a single Heinkel HeS 011 axial-flow turbojet engine, manufactured by Heinkel-Hirth, which was projected to produce approximately 1,300 kgf of thrust. Air was supplied to the engine via intakes located on the sides of the fuselage.
Intended as a high-altitude interceptor and bomber destroyer, the EF 128 was projected to reach a maximum speed of 1,000 km/h at an altitude of 7,000 meters. For armament, the design called for four 30 mm MK 108 cannons concentrated in the nose. Projected dimensions included a length of approximately 8.9 meters and a wingspan between 8.0 and 8.4 meters, with an estimated maximum take-off weight of around 6 tonnes.
Because the EF 128 never flew and no full-scale airframes were produced, it exists today only as a historical curiosity. While no aircraft survive, photographic evidence of wartime wind-tunnel or presentation models exists. The project remains a significant example of the technological ambitions of the late-war German aviation industry, prefiguring the swept-wing jet designs that would dominate the early Cold War era.