General Popov explained the peculiarity of the launch of the “Dagger” from the Su-34 bomber

The capabilities of the sighting and navigation complex of the bomber are wider than those of the MiG-31

The Su-34 front-line bomber, which proved to be excellent in Syria and during the NVO, for the first time used the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system. Prior to this, a rocket accelerating to a speed of 10-12 times the speed of sound was launched only from high-altitude MiG-31 interceptors. The news was reported by TASS, citing military sources. Honored military pilot Major General Vladimir Popov spoke about the significance of this event to MK.

It was not by chance that the MiG-31 was initially chosen as the standard carrier of a large-sized hypersonic missile. The fact is that one of the purposes of the MiG-31 high-altitude interceptor created in Soviet times is to launch anti-satellite missiles.

To do this, the aircraft climbed to the maximum height, then performed a “slide”, and a rocket was launched from it, capable of flying to near space. Several such test launches were carried out before the collapse of the USSR.

When the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles were created in Russia, the MiG-31 became the carrier after some refinement. A hypersonic missile has been used more than once in the NWO. She was even nicknamed the killer of American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. One such complex, for example, was destroyed in Kyiv.

It is no coincidence that after each MiG-31 takeoff from a Russian or Belarusian airfield in Ukraine, an air alert is announced. And now the front-line bomber Su-34 has become the carrier of the “Dagger”.

“This is quite natural,” says Major General Vladimir Popov, Honored Military Pilot, “because the MiG-31 is practically a classmate of the Su-34 in terms of weight and dimensions. Only their purpose is different. The MiG-31 is a high-altitude high-speed interceptor, and the Su-34 is a multi-role fighter-bomber that also works against ground targets.

So, in terms of aiming and navigation device, the capabilities of the Su-34 are several times higher than those of the MiG-31. This is very important for launching “Daggers”, which are designed to destroy ground and surface targets.

Coordinating actions to exit exactly to the Kinzhal launch point is a key moment. It is necessary to give the rocket an initial launch with the desired course and with the parameters that are included in the program of its flight. This further improves the accuracy of hitting the target. In this sense, the Su-34 has even higher capabilities than the MiG-31.

When reaching the desired launch point at the set speed and with the correct course, it is required to adjust the flight mode of the “Dagger” less. This is an aeroballistic means of air attack, let me remind you, it can dive, pitch, go left or right. After all, one of the features of the “Dagger” is precisely that it can maneuver in order, for example, to bypass enemy air defense systems.

The Su-34, just like the MiG-31, can take “under its belly” – on an external sling under the fuselage – one Kinzhal missile weighing several tons.

In order to take off with a volumetric rocket, the carrier needs a high landing gear. On the Su-34 “Dagger” fits very well under the fuselage.

It is also important that the Su-34s are now mass-produced at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant, and the production of the MiG-31 has long been discontinued. When the aircraft is released, it is easy to modify, for example, the suspension system. The main thing is to ensure the pairing of the missile’s homing head and the aircraft’s sighting and navigation system.