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AN EXPLOSION has rocked a Russian airbase in Crimea as horrified tourists watched from a nearby beach. The blast comes just hours after Putin's humiliated troops were forced to pull out of a key occupied city in Ukraine. The cause of the explosion, which sent sparks and plumes of smoke into the air, is currently unknown. But according to the Russian-appointed head of occupied Sevastopol, the explosion was caused when on board munitions detonated on a military aircraft that overshot the runway at Belbek airport. There were no immediate reports of missile strikes on the plane or airport by Ukraine....

Moscow [Russia], November 25 (ANI/Sputnik): The combat effectiveness of Russia's MiG-31 interceptors will triple after repair and upgrade, representatives of the Sokol aircraft plant reported to the Deputy Defense Minister Aleksey Krivoruchko. On Thursday, Krivoruchko, during a working trip to Nizhny Novgorod, visited the Sokol aircraft plant, where he examined the production facilities of the enterprise, checked the progress of repair and modernization of MiG-31 fighters, and also held a meeting on the implementation of the state defence order. The overhaul makes it possible to achieve practically trouble-free operation of the aircraft in service, the plant's representative said. "And the...

The Russian Air Force is receiving six more MiG-31BM jet fighters, which apparently means the manufacturer has found and fixed the problems that this latest version of the MiG-31 was having. These are not new aircraft but refurbished and upgrades of existing MiG-31s. Russia wants to keep its elderly (production ended in 1994) MiG-31s in service until at least 2030 but to do that they had to be refurbished and upgraded to the MiG-31BM standard. The upgrade process began in 2010 but was halted in 2016 because of the accidents. Apparently the MiG-3BM upgrades resumed by 2018 but only a...

In March 2018, the world learnt that Russia possessed the Kinzhal (Dragger) unique airborne hypersonic missile system designed to destroy ground and sea targets. The MiG-31 supersonic long-range all-weather fighter jet developed by the MiG Design Bureau during the Soviet period and accepted for service in 1981 was chosen as a carrier for the new missile system. The MiG-31 or the Foxhound as it is called in the West is a veteran of Russia’s Aerospace Force but is still unique by its speed and altitude capabilities. The fighter jet can easily climb to an altitude of 25 km and accelerate...

Russia has announced it is looking to start work on two all new combat jet designs, a fifth-generation successor to the supersonic MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor called the PAK DP and an as yet unnamed short or vertical takeoff and landing carrier fighter jet to go along with the country’s equally ambitious naval modernization plans. Though these would be significant additions to the country’s arsenal, other such aircraft programs have repeatedly proven to be complex and costly and it could be years before the Russian military actually gets these planes into service, if it ever does. On July 14, 2017, Russian...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia called on Friday for Washington to restart direct military-to-military cooperation to avert "unintended incidents" near Syria, at a time when U.S. officials say Moscow is building up forces to protect President Bashar al-Assad's government. The United States is leading a campaign of air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syrian air space, and a greater Russian presence would raise the prospect of the Cold War superpower foes encountering each other on the battlefield. Both Moscow and Washington say their enemy is Islamic State. But Russia supports the government of Assad, while the United States says his...

BRUSSELS. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Russia has shipped six Mikoyan MiG-31 fighter aircraft to Syria under a 2007 contract, a Turkish English-language news website, BGN News, reported on Sunday. The website claims the aircraft have already landed in Damascus. Under the contract, which was signed in 2007, Moscow is to deliver a total of eight MiG-31 fighter jets to Syria, BGN News says. Russia has called for a broad international coalition, including Syria and Iraq, to be created to fight Islamic State, the website site said. Rosoboronexport told Interfax-AVN that it can neither confirm, nor deny the report.

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG and Aviadvigatel have confirmed that work continues on “radical modernization” of the MiG-31 Foxhound, with the focus on extending the performance of the aging, out-of-production Mach 3 interceptor so that it can carry out not only air-defense duties but also serve the recently established VKO, the Russian acronym for the country’s Air and Space Defense (Command). Under a directive from the Russian defense ministry, RAC MiG is working on new versions of the aircraft more capable than the current MiG-31BM. Speaking to AIN at the Engines-2014 exposition held April 15 to 17 in Moscow, Aleksander Inozemtsev,...

Defence analysts believe that no other aircraft of its kind would be able to compete with what NATO calls the Foxhound in the next 10 to 15 years Russian airspace is guarded by a unique aircraft, which can intercept any target, from hidden cruise missiles to satellites – day and night, rain or shine, and at any speed. Defence analysts believe that no other aircraft of its kind would be able to compete with the Russian MiG-31 in the next 10 to 15 years. Arctic barrier The two-seat supersonic fighter-interceptor, referred to as Foxhound by NATO, is the first Soviet...

Russian MiG-31 Fighter Jets Good Enough Until ‘At Least 2028’ ZHUKOVSKY, August 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors will stay in service until “at least 2028” or possibly five or 10 years more, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Friday. “We are satisfied with this aircraft; it performs its functions wonderfully,” the general said, adding that as next-generation long-range missiles and aircraft are developed, interception functions could be assigned to newer warplanes as well. Bondarev’s remarks seem to be a little bit at odds with his comments in April, when he said the Air Force hoped...

MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Air Force is hoping to receive a new long-range fighter-interceptor by 2020 and retire its existing fleet of MiG-31 interceptors by 2028, Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said on Thursday. “We have started development of a new aircraft of this type and I think we can develop this plane before the state armament program ends in 2020,” Bondarev said at a meeting with Russian lawmakers. “The new plane should replace the existing fleet by 2028,” he said. Bondarev spoke out against restarting production of the MiG-31, which was stopped 20...

Russian Air Force Tests New Air-to-Air Missile The Russian Air Force is testing and will soon deploy an advanced tactical air-to-air missile that will greatly enhance its operational effectiveness, the service's commander Col Gen Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday. The missile will be carried by MiG-31BM Foxhound supersonic interceptors/fighters and will subsequently be used by other warplanes, he said. The weapon is “currently in trial at an Air Force test site,” Zelin said. Zelin did not identify the missile but experts believe it could be the K-37M, also known as RVV-BD, or AA-X-13 Arrow as it is known to NATO....

Russia to modernize 60 MiG-31 interceptors by 2020 The Russian Air Force will receive over 60 modernized MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft by 2020, the Defense Ministry said. A modernization contract was signed by the ministry and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation in December last year. “We are planning to upgrade more than 60 MiG-31 interceptors to the MiG-31BM version by 2020,” Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik said last week. Relatively few MiG-31s have been modernized to the MiG-31BM version since the heavy interceptor entered service with the Russian Air Force in 1982. The modernized version is fitted with upgraded avionics and...

Russia has grounded all of its MiG-31 interceptors after one crashed. The 200 or so in service will be examined to see if there is a common defect that might cause others to crash. MiG aircraft in general have a reputation for these kinds of problems. Mig-21s, MiG-23/27s and MiG-29 all have had these design defect and quality control issues. Now the curse comes to the MiG-31. Three years ago, Russia completed testing of the latest version of its MiG-31 interceptor. The MiG-31 is itself an upgrade of the MiG-25, which was developed to deal with the American B-70 bomber....

November 26, 2010: Russia has grounded all of its MiG-31 interceptors after one crashed. The 200 or so in service will be examined to see if there is a common defect that might cause others to crash. MiG aircraft in general have a reputation for these kinds of problems....frpa

Russia does not have a contract to supply MiG-31 Foxhound fighter jets to Syria, the head of the Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. Media rumors about the sales of at least six MiG-31 aircraft to Damascus under a 2007 contract sparked criticism in the West and Israel, which consider arming Syria a threat to regional security. "The existence of a contract on the delivery of MiG-31 interceptors to Syria is a journalistic hoax," Rosoboronexport General Director Anatoly Isaykin told reporters at the Euronaval 2010 exhibition in Paris. The MiG-31 Foxhound is a two-seater supersonic interceptor aircraft developed...

THE jet-fighter for a fiver was a scam too far even for Russia. An official has resigned after a state agency sold four MiG 31 warplanes to a fictitious company for $US5 each, then bought them back for $US100,000. Corruption is so casual and endemic in Russia that the tricksters clearly felt little need to hide their actions behind an elaborate front. But the exposure of the case also illustrates a renewed drive by President Dmitry Medvedev to change a culture of graft that is threatening Russia's future. Motorists run a daily gauntlet of traffic police extorting bribes, parents and...

A former Russian state official has been charged with illegally selling MiG-31 Foxhound aircraft hulls at a price of 153 rubles ($5) each instead of $3.7 million in 2007, investigators said. "In March 2010, while probing the criminal case on fraudulent activities performed at the time when four state-owned MiG-31 planes were sold, a former employee of [state reserves agency] Rosrezerv was charged with large-scale fraud," investigators said. The criminal case was launched in summer 2009. The sale came to light after an anti-corruption check was carried out to see whether regulations were followed during the sale of items from...

For the last five years, satellite photos have shown continuing constructing of an underground bunker complex north of Damascus, Syria, This is believed to be the control center for the national air defense system. Progress has been slow because Syria is broke and unable to pay for the new missile systems that that the people in this underground complex would control. Earlier this year, Russia suspended its program to upgrade Syria's MiG-31 fighters. In 2007, Russia and Syria signed an agreement by which Russia would provide the country with seven MiG-31 aircraft, as well as equipment and services to upgrade...

The four MiG-31E fighter jets that Russia will deliver to Syria will be without offensive capabilities and used for intelligence gathering alone, according to reports that reached Jerusalem from Moscow this week. According to these reports, Russia did not sell more planes to the Syrians for the simple reason that Damascus does not have the ability to pay for any more. The reports said that two of the planes would be operational, and the other two would be purchased for "cannibalization" purposes, amid a Syrian realization that Russia would not provide effective "after-sale service," and that these planes would be...