A pair of Russian MiG-31K Foxhound jet fighters armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles has
touched down in Syria. It’s the first time that warplanes capable
of carrying the Kinzhal have been deployed outside Russia’s borders.
They joined Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers at Khmeimim Air Base in Syria’s coastal Latakia
province.
While these have been assembled for drill, there is more to it.
The timing is important here.
The deployment to Syria of these aircraft along with Ilyushin IL-38 anti-submarine
planes comes after the U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth commenced its
first combat missions against ISIS militants in Iraq from its location in the eastern Mediterranean.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how Russia has given a hostile welcome to HMS
Queen Elizabeth with the deployment of Kinzhal armed MiG 31K in Syria?
Let's get started.
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Reports of the deployment came from the Russian Ministry of Defense’s official television
station, TV Zvezda, posting a video showing MiG-31Ks and Tu-22M3s arriving at the base.
The clip also noted that joint exercises by the Russian Aerospace Forces and Russian Navy
units had already begun.
TV Zvezda’s reporting has mentioned the Russian maneuvers will involve five Russian
Navy warships, including the Slava class guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the Admiral Grigorovich class
frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, as and the Improved Kilo-class submarines
Stary Oskol and Rostov-on-Don. All these are part of Russia’s Black Sea
Fleet.
Over the last decade, the eastern Mediterranean has become more contested with the heavier
Russian military presence in Syria.
Viewers may note that In 2015 Syria was at the risk of being overrun by ISIS. President
Putin had sent troops into Syria in 2015 to defend Bashar al Assad regime -- a long-time
ally. The mission was to protect the strategic military base, which has later turned into
a full-blown attack on ISIS.
It is also to be noted that the Russian warship has come within 16 miles or around 25 km of
Queen Elizabeth since it started anti-IS operations on 18 June and was a show of force to the
U.K.
Mikoyan MiG-31is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for use by the Soviet Air
Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier
MiG-25 “Foxbat”.
MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25.
The MiG-31 has the distinction of being one of the fastest combat jets in the world. It
continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force.
The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until 2030 or beyond
with several upgrades.
It is powered by two Soloviev D-30F6 after-burning turbofan engines which generate 93 kN (21,000
lbf) thrust each dry and 152 kN (34,000 lbf) with afterburner.
MiG-31 has a max speed of Mach 2.83 and has a service ceiling of 25,000 m or 82,000 ft.
MiG-31 has many variants and the 'K' variant can carry a single Kinzhal on the centerline.
The choice of the aging MiG-31, which would probably launch the Kinzhal from +60,000 feet
at supersonic speed, is aimed at giving the missile much more reach than it would have
if launched from the ground.
Kinzhal meaning (‘Dagger’) is an Air-Launched Ballistic missile (ALBM).
This kind of missile is ballistic in nature but is launched from air, unlike traditional
ballistic missiles which are launched from land or sea-based platforms.
Kinzhal goes ballistic seconds after it has been launched from an aircraft, unlike cruise
missiles. It is a hypersonic weapon and reportedly has
a top speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
The missile has a range of approximately 2000 km or 1,250 miles when launched from MiG-31
Kinzhal is thought to be a variant of the ground-launched Iskander-M short-range ballistic
missile. The Iskander is reportedly capable of reaching speeds of up Mach 5.9 in its terminal
phase and is thought to have a range of about 500 km or 310 miles.
Kinzhal's first stage is probably shared with Iskander and the guidance section is specifically
designed for this missile.
According to the Russian president, units in the country’s Southern Military District,
which borders Ukraine and the Black Sea, have deployed the missiles operationally.
Kinzhal is also reported to be nuclear-capable and able to hit ground as well as naval targets.
It can carry a warhead of 500 kg or around 1100 lbs.
It is thought to be powered by a solid-propellant rocket.
Kinzhal armed with conventional warheads could potentially be used to take out multi-billion-dollar
aircraft carriers or destroyers. When armed with a nuclear warhead, it can
theoretically, decimate a Carrier Strike Group.
It is a stark reminder of Russian military might.
As per Russian claims, Kinzhal is capable of making rapid course corrections or otherwise
flying erratically. This coupled with the weapon’s speed could make it very difficult
for the existing air defense system to track and interceptor it.
The combination of Kinzhal & MiG- 31K will surely be a challenge since the missile carried
by the fast aircraft could be launched from unpredictable locations and its target envelope
will be very large.
The Sea Ceptor defensive missiles on Queen Elizabeth–class carriers can only intercept
targets traveling up to Mach 3.
Sometime back British newspaper 'The Independent' concluded pointing to HMS Queen Elizabeth
& HMS Prince of Wales: “It means the two ships, could be rendered obsolete by this
new development in hypersonic warfare despite costing up to £7 billion [US$8.9 billion]
to build.”