The Mikoyan MiG-31 (NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 “Foxbat”; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 is among the fastest combat jets in the world. It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force and the Kazakh Air Force following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until 2030 or beyond; that was confirmed in 2020 when an announcement was made to extend the service lifetime from 2,500 to 3,500 hours on the existing air frames.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, MiG-31 aircraft have reportedly shot down several Ukrainian aircraft, mainly by utilizing the long range R-37 air-to-air missile. By remaining at high speed and high altitude, MiG-31s have been able to operate virtually unopposed due to Ukraine’s own fighters lacking range, speed, or altitude.
The R-37M has, since October 2022, been the main threat against the Ukrainian Air Force. The Ukrainian Air Force has a significant lack of fire and forget missiles. They relied on the R-27 missiles, both the R-27ER and R-27ET, the R-27ET’s range is 60 miles. The Ukrainian pilot must illuminate the Russian aircraft with their radar to guide the missile to the target. Russian pilots firing active radar, fire and forget, R-77 give the Russian pilots the ability to launch their missiles and then take evasive action. Ukrainian pilots were forced to “exploit ground clutter and terrain-masking to get close enough to fire before being engaged”. During the first three days of the war both sides lost aircraft. The Ukrainians replaced them with older air frames that were made flyable. However the Russian Air Force turned to the MiG-31 with the R-37M missile that has a range of 200 miles. Combined with its superior radar, on the MiG-31, the Ukrainian Air Force has started loosing more aircraft. A report by the Royal United Services Institute states that in October some six R-37Ms were being fired at the Ukrainian Air Force a day. Four MiG-31 were also deployed to Crimea. Due to the protection offered by the range of R-37M missiles Ukraine has been forced to try and attack the air bases directly to destroy MiG-31s with the attack on them before the attack on the Belbek airbase and an attempted drone attack in August. Only one MiG-31 has been lost due to an accident.
The MiG 31 is also designed to carry and launch the much hyped Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-to-surface missile (NATO reporting name Killjoy), which is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic air-to-surface missile. It has a claimed range of more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi), Mach 12 speed (2.5 mi/s), and an ability to perform evasive maneuvers at every stage of its flight. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and can be launched from Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors. It has been deployed at airbases in Russia’s Southern Military District and Western Military District.
The Kinzhal entered service in December 2017 and was one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1st, 2018.
Look for Hobby Master’s inaugural MiG-31 to break several speed records this coming April.