The MiG-31BM interceptor fighters will cover the “Arctic route”, the Izvestia newspaper reports, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry.
The aircraft will defend the Northern Sea Route (NSR). In particular, the MiG-31BM will be on duty at the restored polar island and mainland airfields located along the “Arctic route”, where, if necessary, it will be possible to send interceptor fighters.
The interlocutors of the publication added that the service of the MiG-31BM along the NSR will be organized on a rotational basis. Monchegorsk (Murmansk Oblast) will be the main base for the interceptor fighters.
“The NATO fleet can go there. In addition, there are many stationary objects of the alliance in and around Norway, in particular, command posts, ”military expert Vladislav Shurygin commented on the decision to protect the NSR.
In January, Honored Test Pilot of Russia Magomed Tolboyev said that the most promising Russian military aircraft are the MiG-31B (equipped with an air refueling system) and the MiG-31BM (an upgraded base MiG-31).
In August 2019, the Zvezda TV channel published a video showing the training of the MiG-31BM supersonic high-altitude all-weather interceptor fighters, which took place at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers.
