First Kinzhal equipped MiG-31K Aviation Regiment formed
During a board meeting on 21 December 2021, the Russian Defence Minister General of the Army, Sergei Shoigu, announced that the first aviation regiment of MiG-31K interceptors equipped with the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles has been formed in the Russian Federation - Aerospace Forces (RF VKS). The board meeting was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kh-47M2 solid propellant air-launched stand-off ballistic missile of the Kinzhal hypersonic complex is, according to the developers, capable of overcoming all existing air and anti-missile defence systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads at speeds up to Mach 10 to a range of up to 2,000 km.
If this data is correct, it means that the claimed range of the missile approaches that of Kh-55SM, Kh-101, and some other air-launched cruise missiles, that are carried by long-range strategic bombers.
Currently, the missile is solely used by specially modified MiG-31K, with ten aircraft serving on an experimental combat duty at the Akhtubinsk airfield (Astrakhan region, Southern Military District). Their primary role is anti-ship attacks and aerial patrols over the Black Sea.
Since 2017, some information has leaked out in the media about the plans of the Russian MoD to create separate aviation regiments of the RF VKS armed with the MiG-31K in all military districts of Russia - Western, Southern, Central and Eastern districts, as well as in the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation - Naval Aviation (AVMF RF).
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Photo by Gleb Borzyakov-AviMedia (via RussianPlanes.net)