NATO loses patience when main fighter is no match for MiG-31

NATO is losing patience and discovering that its three main fighter jets, the F-35, JAS-39 and Typhoon, are no match for the MiG-31.

According to the French news agency AFP on September 19, Estonia announced that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had violated its airspace over the Gulf of Finland, an action that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) accused of being a "dangerous provocation".

Three Russian MiG-31 Foxhound heavy fighters also flew for 12 minutes in the sky near Vaidlu Island. The sudden appearance of the MiG-31 fighters in NATO's Special Security Zone over Estonia has added to the already rising tensions in Eastern Europe.

After the Russian fighter jets appeared, NATO immediately activated the Eastern Sentinel system, a mixed force of fighter jets and air defense destroyers in the defense zone between the Arctic and the Black Sea, tasked with defending against long-range UAVs and potential Russian missiles.

Immediately, NATO Air Force mobilized three types of fighter aircraft to the relevant sea area: F-35A stealth fighter of Italian Air Force, JAS-39CD Gripen fighter of Swedish Air Force and Typhoon of German Air Force.

According to NATO spokesperson Allison Hart, Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian and Polish airspace and flew for more than 12 minutes. Italian, Swedish and German air forces provided support, including F-35, Typhoon and JAS-39CD fighter jets, to intercept them.

But according to analysts, even though NATO fighters “immediately took off”, NATO fighters could not find any trace and were completely unable to catch up with the MiG-31 heavy fighters, as the MiG-31 could easily accelerate to Mach 2 and leave NATO fighters far behind.

The MiG-31 heavy fighter has a huge advantage, which is speed. As people say, speed is the only way to defeat all the advantages of other fighters. The MiG-31 fighter is a long-range, heavy-load, air superiority fighter and is specialized in interception missions (currently Russia has an improved version of the MiG-31K, launching the Kinzhal hypersonic missile).

The MiG-31BM fighter has a maximum low-altitude flight speed of 1.23 times the speed of sound, a maximum high-altitude flight speed of 2.8 times the speed of sound, and can cruise at twice the speed of sound. This heavy interceptor is suitable for countries with large territories, high air defense pressure, and high interception speed requirements.

The maximum flight speed of the US F-35A stealth fighter is only 1.6 times the speed of sound. The maximum speed of the JAS-39 and Typhoon fighters is twice the speed of sound, but that is only a temporary speed for a very short time and is not recommended for use.

With the advantage of speed, MiG-31 fighters can carry out high-speed air strikes on NATO air forces. As long as Russian early warning aircraft and air defense radars can detect the flight path of NATO fighters in advance, MiG-31 fighters can quickly approach the battlefield and occupy favorable altitudes.

With the advantage of speed, the MiG-31 fighter jets arrive and search for targets before their opponents. After detecting the exact location of NATO F-35, Typhoon and JAS-39CD fighters, they can quickly approach the target, implementing the modern air combat tactic of “detect first, launch missiles quickly and escape early”.

When guided from the ground, the MiG-31's weapons pilot can quickly launch the R-37M long-range air-to-air missile to attack first, then quickly retreat from the battlefield, significantly shortening the reaction time of the F-35 stealth fighter.

The MiG-31 has a huge advantage over the non-stealthy Typhoon, Rafale and JAS fighters. The MiG-31BM's radar has a detection range of 320km, and when combined with the 300km range of the R-37M long-range air-to-air missile, it can engage in beyond-visual-range air combat at ranges of up to 300km.14. The MiG-31 fighter used its speed advantage to carry out high-speed raid tactics, in coordination with large-scale ground-based meter-wave anti-stealth radars, to attack NATO stealth fighters.

The MiG-31 fighter used its speed advantage to carry out high-speed raid tactics, in coordination with large-scale ground-based meter-wave anti-stealth radars, to attack NATO stealth fighters.

MiG-31 fighters, S-400 air defense missiles, anti-stealth radars, data links and the Joint Command Information Center form a common coordinated combat system of the Russian national air defense system. Ground-based anti-stealth radars detect targets, S-400s lock on to targets and MiG-31s ​​attack.

The real advantage of the MiG-31 fighter is its supersonic flight capability, thanks to its new generation passive phased array radar and R-37M air-to-air missiles. It can perform high-speed interception and direct attack.

In the MiG-25 era, interception was mainly high-speed rear-end attacks, while in the MiG-31 era, interception was mainly long-range frontal interception. The modern MiG-31 fighter is a high-speed long-range air-to-air missile launcher, and its combat capabilities have been significantly improved.

The MiG-31's large size, complex maintenance, and high operating costs are not a big problem for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Russian Aerospace Forces have a large ground engineering staff, and the Russian military does not expect the MiG-31 to perform ground attack or bunker bombing missions.

In the age of modern high-performance digital phased array radars and long-range and ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles, the MiG-31 fighter, with its 1,500 km combat range, Mach 2 speed, massive radar system and heavy payload, can really do a lot. Even the F-35A stealth fighter is not yet a worthy opponent for it. (photo source: TASS, Wikipedia, Sputnik).

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Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/nato-mat-kien-nhan-khi-chien-dau-co-chu-luc-khong-phai-la-doi-thu-cua-mig-31-post2149062538.html