July 6, 2025:
Russian Aerospace forces currently have about 3,600 aircraft. Most of these aircraft are obsolete or no longer manufactured. The enormous Russian Defense production complex has been busy supporting Russian ground forces in Ukraine. As NATO supplied Ukraine with large quantities of modern air defense systems, Russia found that these weapons worked all too well. Since 2023 Ukraine has become a no go zone for Russian tactical aviation. Russia still uses their heavy bombers to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets. Recently Ukraine launched a daring, audacious and successful attack on Russian bombers stationed deep inside Russia. This operation was a success and a quarter of those bombers were destroyed while a currently unknown number were damaged. Russia had to rethink its tactics for using its remaining heavy bombers.
Russia has already rethought the use of its tactical aircraft. Its fighters and fighter bombers rarely go near the Russian border. Europeans sent Ukraine F-16s and French Mirage while Ukraine continued to use its Cold War era Russian MiG-29 fighters and Su-24/25/27 attack aircraft modified to use NATO supplied bombs and missiles. Most NATO and some non-NATO nations contributed Russian helicopters and transports. The sanctions on Russia made it difficult for most nations using Russian aircraft to get spare parts and other support. Western aircraft sales reps were showing up with offers of new or used models of more modern aircraft.
Among the now unwanted Russian warplanes there was one model still in use, the MiG-31, developed and built as the successor to the Cold War era MiG-25 interceptor/reconnaissance aircraft. The MiG-25 was a 1960s design that entered service in 1970 and by the 21st century nearly all had been withdrawn from active service. While age was the major factor, another was the surprising success of its successor, the MiG-31. Entering service in 1981, 519 were manufactured by 1994, when production ceased. Russia expects its Mig-31s to remain in service into the 2030s.
The MiG-31 has been heavily used in the current Ukraine War. Not as a fighter, but as an attack aircraft. Each MiG-31 aircraft can carry a 4.3 ton Kinzhal high-speed ballistic missile. Russia considered the Kinzhal a wonder weapon that could not be intercepted. With a max range of 2,000 kilometers and top speed of 3.4 kilometers a second there was consternation when the Ukrainian developed ways to intercept Kinzhals on a regular basis. The Kinzhal was based on the ground launched Iskander missile, which was also regularly intercepted by Patriot and other Western air defense systems. One reason for this was that the Kinzhal moved at about a third of its advertised speed. That, and the innovations developed by Ukrainian air defense operators, meant that most Kinzhals were intercepted and the MiG-31 lost its only mission. The only nation MiG-31s were exported to was the 50 sent to Kazakhstan. These were retired in 2023. At least one was purchased by the United States for evaluation. These reports were passed on to Ukraine.
The remaining Russian MiG-31s have been reclassified as attack aircraft. The new Su-57 is supposed to regain fighter status for Russian warplanes, but that remains to be seen. The MiG-31 was an excellent design for an era that no longer needed a new jet fighter.