Полвека на страже неба: Миг-31 — от «лисьей гончей» до легенды

The MiG-31 interceptor fighter has reached its 50th anniversary of its first flight. Today, the combat aircraft is considered the highest-flying and fastest in the world, still in operation.

The debut flight of the MiG-31 took place on September 16, 1975, in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow, with Alexander Fedotov at the controls. In June 1974, the leadership of the USSR decided to produce experimental MiG-31 aircraft.

Flight tests of the interceptor were conducted simultaneously with preparations for mass production. In May 1977, the MiG-31 was submitted for joint state tests and was accepted into service on May 6, 1981.

The MiG-31 was produced from 1975 to 1994 at the Sokol Aviation Plant in Gorky, with a total of 519 units built. Currently, aircraft of this type are in service with the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of the Russian Federation and the Air Defense Forces of Kazakhstan.

In 2013, according to the then commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Alexander Zelin, the number of combat-ready aircraft was about 190. More recent data has not been published.

Flight Performance Characteristics and Design

The MiG-31 was built according to an aerodynamic design with twin vertical tail fins, a trapezoidal wing, a three-point retractable landing gear, and two D-30F-6 engines in the tail section of the fuselage.

The length of the aircraft is 22.68 m, the service ceiling is 20.6 thousand m, the combat radius is 720 km, the crew is two people, the take-off weight is 41 thousand kg, and the practical range is 2 thousand 500 km.

MiG-31 Armament

The aircraft is armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missile, a six-barreled 23 mm cannon, aerial bombs, and various types of air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles.

According to experts, the Kinzhal complex includes a modernized single-stage solid-propellant 9M723 guided missile for air launch from the Iskander-M ground-based operational-tactical complex (OTRK).

Modification

The modernized MiG-31BMs were equipped with radar stations and a new weapons control system, allowing them to engage targets at a distance of up to 280 km and detect them at a distance of up to 320 km.

The aircraft is capable of tracking up to ten and engaging six aerial targets simultaneously. In 2016, the VKS received 17 MiG-31BMs, and in 2017 — more than 20 more.

Official data on the number of MiG-31Ks received by the Russian military department has not been publicly released.

Earlier www1.ru reported that footage appeared of the flight of the X-101 strategic missile for the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS.

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