So what does the airplane which was recently considered to be secret and was under lock and key look like? Its designing was begun in 1970 by experts of the Department of Design-technology Bureau (KBO) of A.I.Mikojan who took for the basis an interceptor MIG-25 which was issued serially. It was created in 60-s as a response to the appearance of high-altitude hyper acoustic reconnaissance aircraft and bombers in the USA.
As to the fighting opportunities MIG-31 doesn't have analogues in Russia or abroad. Look: the crew of an interceptor can operate, certainly, alone, but its main assignment is to work as groups of four machines under command of the plane - leader, thus information interchange between them and a land automatic control system is made automatically, and all tasks connected to the search of the purposes and coordination of the group are solved by the onboard means constantly accepting data from the land and cooperating in a group of interceptors. However, it can operate and without any help of the land, carrying out the control over a protected extensive air corridor. It is intended for the use in system of air defense, it is capable to carry out long-term patrolling and to combat all classes of the aerodynamic purposes, including smallsized cruise missiles, helicopters and high-altitude hyper acoustic planes at any time, under any weather conditions.
The airplane is double, is made according to a normal aerodynamic configuration with a trapezoidal high-set wing, an all-moving tail plane and a twin-fin unit. The airframe is made of 50 % of stainless steel, 16 % - titanium, 33 % - of aluminum alloys and 1 %-other constructional materials. The production of the aircraft began in 1979 on an aircraft factory in Gorkii.
Maximum range of target detection EPR of 16 sq.m. - 200 kms, range of tracking of the purpose of a class airplane DLRO - 120 kms, a class of a fighter - 90 kms in a forward hemisphere and, accordingly, 120 and 70 kms in a back hemisphere. Radar system allows to find out and accompany up to 10 various purposes and to aim UR on four purposes simultaneously. The fighter MIG- 31 is equipped with heat direction finder which allows to carry out the search and to use the weapon, and also to act in conditions of intensive radio electronic interferences.
The use of a digital system of closed communication APD-518 provides an exchange of the radar information in group of 4 airplanes MIG-31 removed up to 200 kms, and aiming on the purpose of the group of the fighters having less perfect radar electronic equipment. The use of system APD-518 provides concealed attack of the purpose by the fighter MIG-31 during tracking the target by other fighter located on safe distance from the airplanes of the opponent and broadcasting radar information on an attacking airplane.
The navigational equipment includes radio navigational systems "Tropic" ("Loran", accuracy of definition of coordinates - 0, 13 - 1,3 kms on a distance of 2000 kms) and "Marshrut" ("Omega", accuracy of definition of coordinates - 1,8 - 3.6 kms on a distance of 2000-10000 kms).
As it is known, fighting efficiency of an airplane depends on a structure and capabilities of its arms. For the first time on MIG a gun with huge firing rate in some thousand shots a minute was applied.
The airplane MIG-31 has never been used against the air aims of the opponent. An indirect consequence of the creation of the airplane MIG-31 can be considered to be removal of American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Lokhid SR-71 of arms in 1989 year. The characteristics of these aircraft used to make these extremely expensive airplanes invulnerable from fighters of air defense earlier, but they could not save from attacks MIG-31 any more.
