new detail is a small periscope added in the
cockpit canopy above the pilot’s head.
The MiG-31BM’s maximum take-off weight
is 103,253lb (46,835kg), a little more than
the basic version. Most of the performance
details remain unchanged, except the
ceiling of 65,620ft (20,000m) and range of
1,242nm, in an undisclosed configuration.New missiles
The MiG-31BM’s weaponry is being
supplemented by four R-37M AAMs with a
range of 108nm. An example of the Vympel
R-37M (izdeliye 610M; AA-13 Axehead)
was launched for the first time by a MiG-31
during 2011 and the weapon completed state
acceptance evaluation in early 2014. It is
in series production at the Tactical Missiles
Corporation’s factory in Korolev. The
missile is powered by a dual-mode solid-
propellant rocket motor. It flies to the target
on a lofted trajectory profile controlled by an
MFBU-610MSh seeker. The inertial navigationsystem receives mid-course radio corrections
from the carrier aircraft, while a dual X- and
Ku-band active-radar seeker is used for the
terminal phase. The MiG-31BM also carries up
to four R-73 short-range AAMs that replaced
the very old medium-range R-40TDs and the
small and obsolete R-60s (AA-8 Aphid).
In subsequent stages of the MiG-31BM
upgrade, it is expected that the R-77-1
(AA-12B Adder) and then the K-77M medium-
range AAMs will be introduced. The variant is
intended to carry up to four such missiles under
the wing. Looking further ahead, the MiG-31
could be retrofitted with the ‘izdeliye 810’ very
long-range AAM now being developed for theSu-57 fighter. The Zaslon radar software is
scheduled for improvement next; a new IRST
and an advanced self-defence suite are also
being considered. Finally, a new KSU-31
flight control system is under development.Where are the Foxhounds?
After a first prototype was flown on September
16, 1975, the Nizhny Novgorod plant completed
519 interceptors between 1976 and 1994.
These included 349 initial MiG-31 versions,
101 MiG-31DZs and 69 MiG-31Bs. Large-
scale series production lasted until 1990, before
it slowed down and permanently stopped in- The final MiG-31 left the production line
in April that year. The first unit equipped with
the MiG-31, the now defunct 786th Fighter
Aviation Regiment, based at Pravdinsk near
Nizhny Novgorod, became operational in 1983.
The Russian military now has approximately
130 operational MiG-31s. Another 130 are
in storage and around 65 of these are at
the repair plant in Rzhev. Russian MiG-31s
are operated by units at Bolshoye Savino
(Perm), Kansk, Khotilovo, Monchegorsk,
Tsentralnaya Uglovaya, Yelizovo and Savasleyka
(the evaluation centre). Approximately
ten aircraft are used for various tests by
the 929th State Flight-Test Centre of the
Ministry of Defence at Akhtubinsk.
The sole non-Russian operator of the type
is Kazakhstan, which inherited 43 aircraft
at Zhana-Semey, near Semipalatinsk. The
Kazakhstan Air Defence Force maintains two
12-aircraft squadrons of MiG-31s at the 610th
Air Base at Karaganda. In the early 1990s,
Russia expected China to order MiG-31s and
began manufacturing a batch of aircraft in
the MiG-31E export configuration. However,
China then decided to order Su-27s. These
52 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comFoxhound on duty