MiG-31: The Near-Space Plane. Russia’s super-fast interceptor


Published on Sep 30, 2018

Imagine flying a plane so high that the world looks spherical and the sky is pitch-black. The Mikoyan Mig-31 fighter is the only jet plane in the world to make it possible to fly on the very edge of space.

With an incredible speed of 3,000 km/h, the Soviet-designed interceptor is the world’s fastest serving aircraft, and it can fly twice as high as a commercial flight. Travelling at more than twice the speed of sound, the MiG-31 can touch the stratosphere and breach what’s known as the Armstrong limit. beyond which a pilot’s tears and saliva would boil without a pressure suit.

Even at such incredible heights, the MiG-31 can still deal with its enemies. The fighter is armed with long and short-range missiles that can be launched against high-speed targets.

At Khotilovo air base, RTD attempts to give viewers a first-hand experience of near-space travel aboard this unique aircraft by mounting cameras on the airframe and inside the cockpit. See what breaking the sound barrier looks like and why, despite being designed in the 1970s, the MiG-31remains at the top of its game and unrivalled to this day.

3 thoughts on “MiG-31: The Near-Space Plane. Russia’s super-fast interceptor

  1. I want to watch this, but our lords won’t allow me to at this point. But I’d like to say; “The reason to see by air is because what’s going on on the ground.
    Which is most important?

  2. the russians are superb engineers. their cars might have been crap but the us still uses their rocket engines in our space program. we all know about the kalishnikov. compare this with the f35. since they threw off the yoke of the soviets, their stuff gets better while ours gets worse.

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