Adopted in 1981, the MiG-31 fighter remains one of the most formidable and well-known aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces. After modernization, the interceptor received the ability to carry hypersonic weapons and fight the most modern air, land and sea targets.
According to the Chinese edition of Sohu, the new version of the MiG-31 is equipped with a new D-30F6M engine, modern avionics with digital flight control, a "glass cabin" - multifunctional LCD indicators. At the same time, the heavy interceptor has a flight range of more than 3,000 kilometers, with a maximum speed of Mach 2.83 and a take-off weight of 46.2 tons.
It should also be added that some types of weapons have been modified for the MiG-31. The R-33 missiles have been improved and with a new guidance system can successfully hit air targets at a distance of 300 kilometers. Another air-to-air missile designed for the MiG-31 was the R-37, whose launch range reaches 400 kilometers. Its main targets are AWACS aircraft, tanker aircraft, air command posts and heavy bombers.
Although the MiG-31 was created as an interceptor, but in 2018, some of these aircraft were armed with hypersonic missiles "Dagger", the range of which exceeds 2000 kilometers. In combination with the MiG-31, they make it possible to deliver an irresistible air defense strike on enemy ships from a distance of 3,500 kilometers.
"It is the MiG-31 that is still the "mysterious killer", the lifting of which into the air at any moment terrifies the enemy," the publication says, translated by InoSMI.
Nikolay Grishchenko
