MiG-31BM enhancements include fly-by-wire control system
MiG-31BM long-range interceptor. (Photo: Russian Aircraft Corporation/Sergey Kuznetsov)
Russia is carrying out state trials of a fly-by-wire control system for the upgraded MiG-31BM long-range interceptor aircraft, TASS reported on 26 November.
The state-run news agency quoted officials from the Sokol Aircraft Plant as saying ‘there is an option of upgrading this aircraft where we switch from the mechanical to the fly-by-wire control system, which yields a host of computers mounted on the plane’.
The officials added: ‘The option with the fly-by-wire control system is already being implemented: now this variant of the upgraded interceptor is undergoing trials.’
Shephard Defence Insight calculates that 110 MiG-31s have been upgraded to the MiG-31M (Foxhound B) and MiG-31BM (Foxhound C) standard.
The main strategic aim is to protect Russian airspace in polar regions.
The Russian MoD signed another contract with Sokol in August 2021 to repair and upgrade MiG-31K interceptor-fighters to the MiG-31BM level with advanced avionics.
A squadron of MiG-31K fighters armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles is on experimental combat duty in Russia’s Southern Military District, TASS noted, adding that ‘an air regiment [currently operating MiG-31BMs] stationed in Kansk in the Krasnoyarsk Region in Eastern Siberia was set to be rearmed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles by 2024’.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
How do we detect and defeat enemy drones?
Learn about the portfolio of sensors and effectors for the complete counter-UAS mission at Raytheon, an RTX business.
-
BAE Systems lauds counter-UAS drone progression with live fire trials
The US-based tests successfully demonstrated the first live trial of a precision guided missile from a modified TRV-150 drone which destroyed both aerial and ground targets.
-
India readies private sector push as AMCA moves towards 2028 prototype
India’s stealth fighter ambitions gain fresh momentum as HAL opens the door to private sector involvement in AMCA Mk1A structural assembly, with strategic support growing for next-gen propulsion and sensor technologies.
-
BAE Systems reveals new GCAP demonstrator design with plans to fly by 2027
A key part in the trinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), this is the first crewed supersonic aircraft demonstrator to be built and developed in the UK in more than 40 years.
-
Kratos Defense makes European CCA push with Airbus partnership
Kratos’ XQ-58A Valkyrie will be equipped with an Airbus-made mission system to be offered as a ‘European’ collaborative combat aircraft option to the German Air Force.
-
Anduril’s Barracuda-100M completes latest successful test flights
The munitions variant of the Barrauda-100 autonomous air vehicle is being tested for the US Army’s High-Speed Manoeuvrable Missile (HSMM) testbed programme, with further flight tests expected in 2026.