MiG-31 fighter jets with Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles are ready for patrolling in the airspace over the Black Sea, TASS reported.
“MiG-31 aircraft with Kinzhals in pursuance of a political decision of the country’s leadership are ready for patrolling in the airspace over the Black Sea, they are only waiting for an order,” a source close to the Russian Defence Ministry told the agency.
He specified that the MiG-31K flights will be escorted by Su-27 fighters, and the Kinzhals themselves will be given the opportunity to change target designation during flight, rather than on the ground.
“Now the MiG-31Ks will start duty in the Black Sea, and the Kinzhals, which they are armed with, can be programmed directly from on board, that is, not on the ground programming is going on, but precisely from on board, in flight conditions re-targeting”, – the interlocutor told TASS.
On 18 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian Air and Space Forces to start constant patrolling of the space above the Black Sea by MiG-31 aircraft with hypersonic missile systems Kinzhal. The president named one of the purposes of the patrols as monitoring the situation in the Mediterranean Sea due to the deployment of two US aircraft carriers in its eastern part.
“I warned that this is not a threat, but we will exercise visual control, control with weapons over what is happening in the Mediterranean Sea,” Vladimir Putin said at a press conference in China, answering a question from VGTRK correspondent Pavel Zarubin as to whether Western countries would call the president’s statements a “threat.”
