General Sitnov commented on the crash of the MiG-31 in Primorye: it’s time to create a replacement

“We need a promising high-altitude interceptor”

In Primorsky Krai on December 2, a MiG-31 fighter crashed during a training flight. Both pilots ejected, no damage on the ground. This, unfortunately, is not the first accident of an aircraft of this type, which was created in the 70s and has not been produced for a long time. It only confirms the need to develop a new high-altitude interceptor to replace the MiG-31. So says the former chief of armaments of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, retired Colonel-General Anatoly Sitnov.

MiG-31 fighters are machines with unique characteristics. In late Soviet times, experiments were carried out to launch anti-satellite missiles from the MiG-31.

The aircraft made its first flight in 1975. Adopted by air defense aviation in 1981. In total, more than 500 MiG-31s ​​were built. The MiG-31 high-altitude interceptor set 19 absolute records. The aircraft is equipped with two engines and is considered very reliable. The crew is two people. The aircraft is 23 meters long. Range – 2500 km. Practical ceiling – 20 km.

The release of the MiG-31 was discontinued long ago – in 1994, which is a pity. So far, only MiG-31 fighters have adapted to carry the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

– It is high time to move on to work on creating a continuation of the MiG-31, – said General Anatoly Sitnov. – Some call it the MiG-41. For 28 years, the aircraft has not been mass-produced. The country’s leadership must give the command to start work.

According to him, it is necessary to create an aircraft with new engines, new avionics, new hypersonic weapons.

– Such an aircraft is not only needed now, it is also promising, – said Sitnov. – In modern conditions, an aircraft with a short takeoff and landing is in demand.

As a former employee of the Mikoyan Design Bureau told MK, more than ten years ago, the design bureau was still working on a new generation of heavy high-altitude interceptor to replace the MiG-31. However, later the work was curtailed in favor of the 5th generation Su-57 fighter, the project of which was intensively promoted by Mikhail Pogosyan, who headed the United Aircraft Corporation at that time.

In recent years, there have been several accidents and disasters with MiG-31 aircraft due to technical reasons. As a rule, the pilots managed to survive thanks to the ejection system.

So, on April 8, 2022, a MiG-31 crashed in the Leningrad Region. The crew ejected. The cause of the incident is a breakdown.

In 2018, on September 19, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the MiG-31 crashed during a planned training flight. Both pilots ejected.

In the same year, on May 18, at the airfield in the Perm region, while driving along the runway, the right engine of a MiG-31 aircraft caught fire. The crew performed an emergency braking, the engine was extinguished by the regular fire brigade. No harm done.

In 2017, on April 26, in Buryatia, during a planned training flight in the area of ​​​​the Telemba training ground, a MiG-31 crashed. The plane crashed in a deserted place. The pilots ejected.

On January 25, 2016, a similar incident occurred in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The crew ejected.