Russia’s Upgraded MiG-31BM jets to Enter Service by Year-end

Two MiG-31 fighter jets upgraded to the “BM” standard will be inducted into active services with the Russian forces by the end of the current year.

The high-altitude fighter interceptors will enter service with the Central Military District’s fighter air regiment stationed in the Krasnoyarsk Region, Eastern Siberia, by the end of 2019, the District’s press office said in a statement Friday.

The multirole version of MiG-31BM is being upgraded with avionics, new multimode radar, hands-on-throttle-and stick (HOTAS) controls, multi-functional displays and improved capability to carry R-77 missile and other Russian air-to-ground missiles such as Kh-31 anti-radiation missile (ARM) and digital data links. Russia began upgrading its MiG-31 fleet to MiG-31BM in 2010.