Russia's recent adaptation of their Iskander tactical ballistic missile into an air-launched weapon made major headlines and was among the least technologically reaching of Putin's new cadre of superweapons that are supposedly in development. The carrier aircraft for that weapon, named 'Kinzhal,' is MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor. The MiG-31, which evolved out of the MiG-25 Foxbat, has the ability to carry heavy loads to high altitudes and at very speeds approaching mach three. This makes it an ideal launch platform not just for ballistic missiles meant to strike targets on the surface of the earth, but also for small suborbital or even orbital payloads, and especially direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons. On September 14th, 2018 what appears to be just such a launch system was photographed at Zhukovsky Airport outside of Moscow by aviation photographer ShipSash.

Zhukovsky is a major testing base for Russian aerial weaponry, something very loosely akin to Edwards Air Force Base here in the United States, although Zhukovsky now has a small commercial terminal as well. At the heart of the airport is a huge runway measuring nearly 18,000-foot long runway, the second largest publically accessible runway in the world. That long runway is there because the storied Gromov Flight Institute is also based at the airfield.

Google Earth Zhukovsky Airport also hosts the biennial MAKS international air show.

The institute operates a wide variety of aircraft for testing purposes, from Tu-154 transports to MiG-29s. One of these aircraft is a unique variant of the MiG-31, the same as is seen carrying this large missile aloft in the photo at the top of this article with the '81 Blue' bort number painted on its side. This particular aircraft started to appear in photos about a year ago. Initially, it seemed like a regular MiG-31BM, which is the designation assigned to the MiG-31s which have been progressively upgraded and modernized by the Russian air force. The MiG-31BM is easily distinguished by the periscope fairing on the cockpit canopy, as well as a large blade aerial on the bottom port side of the fuselage, close to the nose gear. It also features low profile missile pylons on the wings, which are meant to carry R-73 and R-77 missiles, replacing the wing mounted R-40 missile that older MiG-31 versions used to carry. However, 81 Blue soon became a mystery since it had certain external features not present on standard MiG-31BMs. It lacked missile pylons completely and didn’t feature the large blade aerial. It did, however, have the periscope fairing, which suggests it went through a modernization similar to standard MiG-31BMs. It also featured two chin mounted blade shaped pitot tubes under the nose. Although there are some speculations, the purpose of the aircraft remained unknown.





Dmitriy Pichugin MiG-31BM

After president Putin unveiling the new Kh-47B Kinzhal ballistic missile carried by the MiG-31 last March, a new version of the MiG-31 used to fire the Kinzhal, first dubbed MiG-31K by the media and later MiG-31BP by the Russian Ministry of Defense, was identified. It had all the same external features as the previously seen 81 Blue except the two chin mounted pitot tubes. This suggested that 81 Blue was still involved with a different program but one similar to Kinzhal. In addition, all the MiG-31BPs are based at Akhtoobinsk, which is a remote flight test airbase in southern Russia, while 81 Blue is based at Zhukovsky, near Moscow. Throughout 2018, as more pictures of the MiG-31BP surfaced, it became clear that all of them were in the same external configuration and all of them featured air-to-air refueling probes. About 500 MiG-31s were produced until the early 1990s, of which 349 were the basic version. Later, the MiG-31DZ introduced air-to-air refueling capability. The last and most capable version before production stopped in the early 1990s was the MiG-31B. It also featured a refueling probe. When the MiG-31BM modernization program first started, the Russian air force first upgraded its MiG-31Bs. Once they were all upgraded, older versions of the MiG-31 without air-to-air refueling started going through the modernization program. Oddly, the air-to-air refueling capable MiG-31DZs seemed to be skipped over. However, once the MiG-31BP came to light, all of them had refueling probes. Clearly, the MiG-31DZs had been routed towards the Kinzhal firing MiG-31BP program.

Russian MoD MiG-31BP carry a Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile.