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| Russian MiG-31 Aircraft Shoots Down Ukrainian Su-24 fighter From High Altitude |
Moscow - The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that a Moscow MiG-31 fighter jet had shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 fighter jet. According to the ministry, the MiG-31 aircraft were assigned to air patrols in the mandated area. The crew then detected an aerial target during one of its flights.
After confirming that the target was an enemy aircraft, the crew launched air-to-air missiles to intercept the Ukrainian Su-24. Without specifying the date and location of the incident, the ministry released a video showing the crew of the MiG-31 preparing for the mission and taking off carrying two RVV-BD missiles with a firing range of 300 km under the fuselage and two RVV-SD missiles with a maximum firing range of 110 km. under the wing posts.
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After takeoff, the MiG-31 aircraft is shown spinning and climbing to great heights. Then settle into combat patrols. No missile launches shown. On landing, the plane was still visible with 2 RVV-BD missiles still under the fuselage and one RVV-SD missile on the right wing pylon. The left wing is not seen in the video footage.
If the aircraft shown in the video is an aircraft involved in combat, then it can be assumed that the MiG-31 shot down the Su-24 using an RVV-SD missile. RVV-BD missiles are typically used against high-value assets operating at extreme ranges, including tanker aircraft and AWACS aircraft.
An Izvestia report on the incident, quoted by the EurAsian Times on Friday (28/10/2022), details footage in which Alexander the commander of the MiG-31 aircraft said that the crew of the Su-24 was aware of the threat posed by the MiG-31. to interfere with the attack," he said.
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According to him, the MiG-31 crew launched long-range missiles, illuminated them, and observed the Su-24s disappearing from their airborne radar. They then received confirmation from their control radar that the Su-24 had been hit. The MiG-31 then continued its air patrol.
Both the RVV-BD and RVV-SD require the launchers to continue illuminating the target with their radar until their AESA radar seeker locks on the target. The MiG-31BM variant is equipped with the PESA Zalson-AM radar which is highly effective in detecting low-flying targets, including cruise missiles, against ground clutter.
The Ukrainian warplanes, most of which fly at low levels to evade detection by Russian ground-based air defense radars, are easily picked up by the MiG-31's Zalson radar.