Classified history: Intel's 4004 has long been celebrated as a milestone in the early history of personal computing. However, decades after its introduction, it's been revealed that an iconic fighter jet used a similar processor that predated Intel's invention and was far more advanced.
When asked to name the first microprocessor, search engines, and AI models from Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, and ChatGPT consistently identify Intel's famous 4004, introduced in early 1971. Yet for more than 25 years it has been publicly known that the title should likely go to the MP944, a chip that helped power the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
The story most people know is that in 1970 the Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation, often called NCM, partnered with Intel to design chips for a desktop calculator.
Although NCM initially requested an eight-chip system, following the common practice of assigning each task to a separate chip, Intel instead created a multi purpose processor that reduced the number by half. The result, introduced early the following year, was the legendary 4004, considered by many to be an early predecessor of modern CPUs.
The world's first microprocessor is *NOT* from Intel.
– LaurieWired (@lauriewired) November 13, 2025
But you won't find it in many textbooks.
It was a secret only declassified in 1998; for good reason.
The Garrett AiResearch F14 Air Data Computer was ~8x faster than the Intel 4004, and a year earlier! pic.twitter.com/LeYds8jp1r
However, Garrett AiResearch had actually finished work on the MP944 in late 1970. Northrop Grumman used the microprocessor, which was roughly eight times faster than the 4004 and processed 20 bits compared with the Intel chip's four, to control the F 14's variable sweep wing system.
A Google researcher recently explained that no human pilot could manually expand and contract the wings quickly enough to achieve the performance the US Navy required, so Garrett's chip handled sensor inputs and performed the complex calculations instead.
The world accepted the 4004 as the pioneering microprocessor because the MP944's existence remained classified until 1998. Lead designer Ray Holt outlined the chip in a 1971 article, but did not receive clearance to publish it until 27 years later.
Also read: The History of the Microprocessor and the Personal Computer
Thus, Intel's famous chip is sometimes called the first commercially available microprocessor, a distinction that reflects the reason behind its widespread recognition.
Although the 4004 was originally intended only for NCM's calculator, shifts in the computer market led the two companies to renegotiate their contract, which allowed Intel to distribute the multi-purpose processor across various markets.
Discussions about the topic can be controversial because the definition of a microprocessor is somewhat ambiguous. Unlike modern CPUs, the 4004 and MP944 required additional chips to function. Furthermore, the obscure Four-Phase Systems AL1, introduced in 1970 and 1971, might also be worthy of contending for the title of first microprocessor.