The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) revealed this week that it has completed the modernization of MiG-31 fighter jets and sent them to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The new batch of undisclosed aircraft numbers received several upgrades to the MiG-31BM standard at the Sokol facility in Nizhny Novgorod.
The MiG-31 is the largest fighter in the world and was a development on the MiG-25, a model created to combat future US supersonic bombers.
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With two seats, the MiG-31 was one of the last fighters to enter service in the Soviet Union and is capable of carrying heavy weapons and flying long distances.
“Modernization of MiG-31 aircraft is one of the main competencies and the most important activity of the Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Building Plant in the UAC circuit,” said Yury Slyusar, general director of the UAC.
The BM version introduced improvements mainly in avionics, with new radar, liquid crystal displays, HOTAS concept (Hands-on-Throttle-and-Stick) and the ability to launch more modern missiles, including the hypersonic Kinzhal, which has been used in attacks to Ukraine.
There are no official statistics on the number of active MiG-31BM fighters in the Russian Air Force, but it is estimated that just under 100 aircraft are in use.
