Russian Air Force has deployed a new squadron of Mikoyan MiG-31BM Foxhound interceptor aircrafts in Siberia’s Novosibirsk region to prote...
The deployment is part of a program to reinforce the air unit responsible for the safety of Siberian airspace, the ministry said in a statement.
Previously, the airspace over Novosibirsk was guarded by a unit of fighters based in the city of Omsk, but that was disbanded in 1998.
The MiG-31BM interceptor is a recently introduced upgraded version of the MiG-31, equipped with a new fire-control system, extending the aircraft's target detection range up to 320 kilometers and engagement range up to 280 kilometers. It can also track 10 targets simultaneously.
The MiG-31BM can carry new air-to-air missiles including the K-37M long-range air-to-air missile, which has been developed specifically for it according to Douglas Barrie,an air warfare analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The Russian Air Force has an contract for 60 MiG-31BMs by 2020, signed with United Aircraft Corporation in 2011.
