The crews of MiG-31BM fighter-interceptors and Su-24 tactical front-line bombers of the separate mixed aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet refueled in the air from the Il-78 tanker aircraft of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation. The refueling took place in the Arctic sky.
The training involved five Su-24 aircraft and two MiG-31BM interceptors. 12 crews participated in the refueling, and they took off both during the day and at night, the press service of the Northern Fleet reported. And they added that aerial refueling is a necessary training for aircraft crews who must perform combat missions far from their locations.
The MiG-31BM is the latest modification of the high-altitude fighter-interceptor. Recently, the crews of these aircraft took up duty at the airfield of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
The Su-24 is a tactical front-line bomber with a variable sweep wing. Successfully serves in the Arctic and the Far North.
Svetlana Tsygankova