Development of the I-180 began in 1938, with the Polikarpov design bureau starting work on creating a new aircraft to meet the requirements of the Soviet Air Force at the time. In order to do so, engineers decided to base the new machine on a modified I-16 design and to install a more powerful radial engine. As a result, the I-180 was created. However, development and testing of prototypes was plagued with numerous issues, including many accidents. This, coupled with the arrival of new Soviet fighter designs quickly cast a shadow on the I-180 project which ultimately led to the project being cancelled by the end of 1940. Prior to the cancellation, a production version of the machine - the I-180S - was built but only in very limited numbers. In total, around 13 I-180s were built, including prototypes, but none saw any active service.