MiG-31 interceptors deployed by the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet practiced interception of enemy plane at excessive altitude over the Barents Sea, with the fleet’s press service reporting on November 7: “The crews of MiG-31 fighters of the Northern Fleet’s separate mixed air regiment have practiced interception of a hypothetical enemy within the stratosphere. In line with the drills’ state of affairs airspace monitoring means detected an air goal approaching Russia’s state border over the Barents Sea… The crews recognized the air goal and escorted it over the Barents Sea, forcing the hypothetical intruder to show away from Russia’s state border.” A MiG-31 from a separate combined air regiment of the Northern Fleet was assigned to simulate the place of an intruder into Russian airspace. Though the big majority of MiG-31s in Russian service are deployed by the Russian Air Power, which fields nicely over 100 of the plane, an estimated 32 extra are deployed underneath the Northern Fleet – roughly two thirds in a full MiG-31 regiment and round 10 airframes in a combined regiment with Su-24M strike fighters.
MiG-31s from the Northern Fleet have shouldered a rising burden over the Barents Sea within the face of increasing NATO capabilities within the area, and particularly the Norwegian Air Power’s transition from F-16 to F-35 fighter plane which have revolutionised its fight capabilities. Whereas the MiG-31 retained overwhelming efficiency benefits over the F-16, which was underneath one third its measurement and carried a radar underneath one sixth the scale of its personal, the F-35’s stealth capabilities and way more superior sensors, avionics and weaponry have threatened to shift the steadiness of energy significantly. Russia’s place is ready to worsen significantly as soon as ongoing points with the F-35s are resolved, because the problematic American fighter class remains to be removed from able to excessive depth fight. Norway’s neighbour Finland, which joined NATO in April, is ready to exchange its F-18s with a number of squadrons of extra F-35s, whereas giant U.S. Air Power deployments to bases on Finnish territory are additionally underneath dialogue.
Encounters between MiG-31s and Norwegian Air Power plane have been removed from unusual, a notable instance being the interception of a P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft over the Barents Sea on December 12, 2022. Apart from a small variety of new Su-57 stealth fighters, the MiG-31 is extensively thought of Russia’s most succesful fight plane for air to air fight, and lately noticed its first engagements over Ukraine with each MiG-31K strike variants and MiG-31BM/BSM interceptor variants demonstrating notably robust performances and gaining a number of kills.
Designed to have the ability to function above the Armstrong Restrict and hearth all its weapons in close to house, the MiG-31’s R-37M air to air missiles with excessive 400km ranges, unmatched Mach 6 speeds and really giant 60kg warheads make them notably harmful in opposition to targets in any respect altitudes. The sheer energy of their sensors made them the primary fight plane on the planet able to lengthy vary interceptions in opposition to low flying cruise missiles. The interceptors have additionally been prioritised for integration of R-74 brief vary air to air missiles, which assist to compensate for his or her restricted low manoeuvrability by permitting pilots to focus on adversaries at excessive angles while not having to show the airframes themselves. Though complete upgrades to the fleet proposed within the Nineties have been by no means utilized because of budgetary shortages, the MiG-31’s capabilities have been revolutionised from 2009 and all through the 2010s with upgrades bringing the plane as much as the MiG-31BM/BSM customary, which included integration of a wholly new radar and avionics. Because the significance of operations within the Arctic has continued to develop, the MiG-31’s excessive suitability for operations in excessive climates together with its capability to function from ice airfields and really lengthy vary and excessive situational consciousness has solely elevated the category’ perceived significance.
The way forward for the MiG-31 fleet stays extremely unsure, and whereas successors to the Foxhound have been developed underneath the MiG-31M, Venture 701 and the PAK DP applications the previous two have been cancelled and the state of the latter stays unknown. The chance has thus grown that the MiG-31 could also be retired with out alternative by an equal interceptor class. With Russia relying more and more closely on floor based mostly methods for lengthy vary air defence, such because the S-500 system now in giant scale manufacturing, it has been more and more speculated that Su-57 fighters – presumably as a modified prolonged vary twin seater variant – may ultimately change the Foxhounds.
