The MiG-31 appears capable of hitting unparalleled speeds of Mach 2.8
by Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
Russia’s famous, high speed Cold War era MiG-31 continues to fly through the sky as part of Putin’s apparent long-term plan to sustain the service life of the aircraft. The aircraft, which has been embattled by some high-speed training crashes and friendly fire over the last few years, is widely reported to be the fastest fighter jet in the world.
Should the available specs be accurate, the MiG-31 appears capable of hitting unparalleled speeds of Mach 2.8, a speed substantially faster than the US Air Force F-22s Mach 2.23 speed.
This being said, there is little to no available information related to whether the MiG-31 could actually rival the well-known F-22. The F-22 is regarded by many independent observers to be the best air-to-air, air-supremacy fighter the world has ever seen. The F-22 is more modern than the MiG-31, as the Russian MiG-31 emerged during the height of the Cold War era in the 70s and 80s and the F-22 emerged at least a decade later.
Upgraded MiG-31?
At the same time, despite being an older airframe, the MiG-31 has been consistently upgraded for many years much like 1980s-era US fighter aircraft such as the F-15 and F-16. A significant essay from as far back as 2015 in the Moscow Times says Russia plans to fly its MiG-31 for 50-years, emphasizing continued modernization plans. This might seem surprising given that the aircraft first emerged decades ago, however, airframes can remain viable with some maintenance for decades beyond their intended service life.
This has been shown to be the case with regard to the US Air Force’s Service LIfe Extension Plans (SLEP) for the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. With some structural reinforcement and sustainment, these aircraft have added thousands of flight hours beyond their anticipated service life. Of greatest significance with the SLEP programs, which have been underway for many years, these Cold War US Air Force and US Navy Fighters have become entirely different aircraft due to the nature and extent of the modernization efforts. New electronics, fire control, weaponry, sensors, computing, software and avionics have all been vastly improved with generational enhancements in the case of these aircraft.
MiG-31 performance
While the Moscow Times details a number of significant upgrades being woven into the MiG-31, it seems unclear how much Russian upgrades have improved performance parameters of the aircraft. Russian upgrades may not have been as impactful as US Air Force enhancements to the F-16 and F-15 which have arguably transitioned the decades-old aircraft into extremely relevant and useful 4th-generation aircraft now designed to operate in a modern threat environment.
Added to the uncertainty, effectiveness and implementation of the MiG-31s various modernization efforts, the high-speed aircraft has been plagued with a handful of training-related crashes and friendly-fire incidents. One essay in the WarZone as far back as 2019 details information related to a “botched” training exercise in Siberia which included a friendly fire incident. The WarZone report also cited information detailing some mechanical problems with the aircraft.
“The summary of the mishap suggests that there could be dangerous problems with the aircraft’s Zaslon-M radar and Baget-55 fire control system that might increase the risk of more accidental shootdowns,” the WarZone states.
Finally, the MiG-31s combat effectiveness, while believed to be quite significant, does appear to raise some questions. Despite the aircraft’s seemingly unprecedented speed, a Newsweek report from April, 2024 states that a Russian MiG-31 was shot down in Ukraine by Ukrainian forces
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.