American journalists from Military Watch Magazine dedicated an article to the MiG-31 fighters of the Russian Northern Fleet after their recent actions in the sky. MiG-31s serving in the Barents Sea and on the expanding borders of NATO are of great concern to the North Atlantic Alliance.
As noted, the MiG-31 has maintained a "dominant advantage in flight-technical characteristics" compared to American F-16 fighters currently located in Norway. The F-35 fighters, that are supposed to arrive there, have "much more advanced sensors, avionics and weapons", but there are "problems." So far, the MiG-31 has no competitors, both in combat and guarding the national borders.
Its R-37M air-to-air missiles have a flight range of 400 kilometers, unrivaled speed of six Mach numbers and very large 60-kilogram warheads, which makes them especially dangerous for targets at all altitudes. The huge power of the sensors made the MiG-31 the first combat aircraft in the world capable of intercepting low-flying cruise missiles at long distances.
Military Watch Magazine
However, it is noted that a new generation of these Russian interceptors has not been presented yet. The MiG-41 aircraft project as part of the development of the PAK DP (future long-range interception aviation complexes) program has been discussed for several years, and the current development status is unknown.
There is no information in the public domain about other new generation developments from other companies that could replace the MiG-31 for Russia. And, according to the publication, Russia may abandon this project.
Thus, the probability increases that the MiG-31 may be withdrawn from service without being replaced by an equivalent class of interceptors. As Russia increasingly relies on long-range ground-based air defense systems such as the S-500, which is now in mass production, it is often speculated that the Su-57 fighters - possibly as a modified two-seater long-range variant – might ultimately replace the 'Foxhounds' [NATO's classification for the MiG-31 is 'Foxhound', - note of the author].
Military Watch Magazine
As for the multi-role fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, which can replace the MiG-31 family, the editorial staff of another American publication, The Military Watch, recently analyzed their properties. And concluded: F-35 fighters significantly are weaker than Russian Su-57.