Moscow. June 25. INTERFAX-Russian MiG-31K fighters, relocated to Syria for exercises, performed flights over the Mediterranean Sea with hypersonic missiles of the Kinzhal complex.
This is evidenced by the official photos and video materials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation from the exercises.
In the photo and video, the MiG-31K carry high-precision hypersonic aeroballistic missiles. It was reported that these missiles can strike targets at a range of more than 2000 km without entering the enemy's air defense zone.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the beginning of maneuvers involving ships, submarines and aircraft in the east of the Mediterranean Sea.
"As part of the exercise, a pair of MiG-31K aircraft with the ability to use the latest hypersonic missiles from the Kinzhal complex were flown to the Russian Khmeimim airbase in the Syrian Arab Republic from Russian airfields, "the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
A naval strike group led by the British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth is currently located in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the Russian military, five ships are involved in the exercise, in particular, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moscow, the frigates with Kalibr cruise missiles Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, as well as two submarines equipped with "Caliber" Stary Oskol and Rostov-on-Don.
Together with the Tu-142, Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and MiG - 31K aircraft, the ships and submarines will perform combat training tasks to ensure the security of two Russian bases in Syria-Khmeimim and Tartus.
The MiG-31 is a long-range interceptor fighter. On its basis, the Mig-31K was created - the carrier of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system.
The commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Sergei Surovikin, previously said that maneuvering the missile at speeds several times higher than the speed of sound allows it to reliably overcome all existing and developing air and missile defense systems. According to Surovikin, a high-speed carrier aircraft will be able to deliver a rocket to the drop area in a matter of minutes.