Russian MiG-31 caught fire during testing of Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile?
On May 18, a Russian MiG-31BM long-range interceptor caught fire at an airport in Permsky Krai while preparing to take off.
According to the press office of Russia's Central Military District, the right engine of the MiG-31 fighter jet caught fire.
“The pilots were preparing to conduct a training flight when the aircraft caught fire,” the statement said.
Additionally, the report added, firefighters extinguished the blaze, while both pilots were safely rescued and no one was injured.
Although the above event was not too serious, it happened right after the Russian Air Force lost 1 Su-30SM and 1 Ka-52 in Syria, so it attracted a lot of attention from the world media. What is happening to the Russians?
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| Russian MiG-31BM long-range interceptor caught fire. |
The cause of the accident has not yet been announced. However, recently, China's Sina website has made a shocking hypothesis that the MiG-31 was damaged due to the testing of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
It is known that due to its heavy weight of up to 5 tons and length of 9 m, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal required MiG-31BM to be modified in terms of fuselage and engine boost mode to be able to integrate this weapon.
It is possible that the MiG-31BM's engine suffered an overload failure during a test simulating short-runway takeoff conditions while carrying the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile.
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| Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile hanging under the belly of MiG-31BM fighter |
It is unclear how accurate the information from Sina is, but it is common for a new weapon to have problems when put into service, and no force can avoid this, even if they have the most modern equipment in their inventory.
Through incidents, users will gain experience to make appropriate adjustments to help their weapons become more and more perfect, thereby meeting the technical and tactical requirements.
In the future, it is expected that in addition to being deployed in the Southern Military District to deter NATO, the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile and the MiG-31BM long-range interceptor will also be deployed by Russia in the Far East region. One of its potential targets is the Chinese Navy because the "Dagger" can also be used as an "aircraft carrier killer".
