The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor and successor to the infamous MiG-25. Developed during the Cold War as a true home-defense interceptor, the MiG-31 shares only a superficial appearance to the MiG-31. Dubbed ’Super Foxbat’ by defecting MiG-25 Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko, the MiG-31 is essentially the full realization of what the MiG-25 was intended to be.
Whereas MiG-25’s design was about brute force, the MiG-31 employed the state-of-the-art by way of sophisticated avionics, engines, and weapons systems. MiG-31 remains one of the fastest combat jets to enter service, and the first combat aircraft in the world to use a phased array radar, offering superior situational awareness.
