Airforces

MiG-31Es were subsequently offered to
Libya and Syria, without success.
The 130 MiG-31s in storage would enable
several new units to be established, if funding
were available. In the Far East, re-formation
of the 530th Fighter Aviation Regiment at
Chuguyevka is being considered. This
regiment was formed in 1951 with La-9
fighters; it then operated MiG-15s and
MiG-17s. From 1975 it operated MiG-25s and
from September 1988 is flew MiG-31s. It was
from this unit that Lt Viktor Belenko defected
to Japan with his MiG-25P on September
6, 1976. The regiment at Chuguyevka was
disbanded in 2009, whereupon a squadron
of airworthy MiG-31DZs was moved to
Tsentralnaya Uglovaya and incorporated
into the unit based there. The airfield at
Chuguyevka is still used periodically; for
instance, in a satellite photo taken in June
2016, 11 MiG-31s (as well as 15 Flankers) are
visible. The neglected condition of the base
indicated that it was a temporary deployment

for an exercise and these were probably

aircraft from Tsentralnaya Uglovaya. As part

of its build-up of forces in the Arctic, Russia

has announced the creation of new MiG-31

bases at Tiksi (Yakutia) and Anadyr (Chukotka),

but actual work on these has not begun.

Future proposals

Various sources report that RAC MiG is

working on two new modifications of the

MiG-31 with the ambiguous designations

‘izdeliye 06’ and ‘izdeliye 08’. Perhaps

one of them relates to the Kinzhal (see

accompanying boxed item). The other may

be simply a new version of the interceptor, but

it may also be an aircraft of totally different

purpose, for example a satellite interceptor.

More than 30 years ago, in January 1987, the

MiG-31D (izdeliye 07), a satellite interceptor

carrying the 79M6 anti-satellite missile, made

its first flight. The aircraft and the missile

together created the 30P6 Kontakt anti-

satellite system. Two MiG-31D prototypes

were completed. In 1991, work on the

MiG-31D and its MiG-31DM developmental

version with the improved 95M6 missile was

stopped. After the collapse of the USSR

both MiG-31D prototypes remained at the

Sary Shagan test range in Kazakhstan, where

they had been undergoing evaluation.

MiG-31B characteristics

Powerplant Two Aviadvigatel/Perm

D-30F-6 turbofans each

rated at 20,944lb st

(93.17kN) dry and 34,172lb

st (152kN) with afterburning

Wingspan 44ft 2in (13.46m)

Maximum length 74ft 5in (22.69m)

Length without probe 67ft 8in (20.62m)

Height 20ft 2in (6.15m)

Empty operating weight 50,001lb (22,680kg)

Nominal take-off weight,

four R-33 AAMs, no drop

tanks

90,390lb (41,000kg)

Maximum take-off weight 101,853lb (46,200kg)

Maximum Mach number 2.83

Maximum speed at high

altitude

1,620kts (3,000km/h)

Supersonic cruising Mach

number at high altitude

2.35

Subsonic cruising Mach

number

0.85

Landing speed 151kts (280km/h)

Service ceiling 67,585ft (20,600m)

Combat radius at Mach

2.35 with four R-33s

and no drop tanks

389nm (720km)

Combat radius at Mach

0.85 with four R-33s

and two drop tanks

756nm (1,400km)

Left: The busy fl ight line at Bolshoye Savino, where
two squadrons of MiG-31s are assigned to the 14th
Air Force and Air Defence Army. The air base is
co-located with Perm International Airport. ‘Blue
20’ (RF-95454) is a MiG-31DZ variant. Right: This
MiG-31BM carries a typical missile load, comprising
four semi-active radar-guided R-33s in tandem
pairs under the fuselage and two R-73s on the
outer underwing stations. Note the retracted 8TK
IRST immediately ahead of the nose gear.

Above: MiG-31BM ‘37 Red’ (RF-90901) returns from a night mission. The aircraft is assigned to the 712th

Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kansk. Left: The business end of a MiG-31BM. Using its Zaslon-AM fi re

control system with upgraded 8BM radar, the MiG-31BM can detect a fi ghter-type target at twice the

range of the previous radar. It can track 24 targets and engage six of them simultaneously.

AFM

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 53