In Belarus, the engine of one of the Russian MiG-31K aircraft caught fire at the airfield in Machulyshchy.
This was reported by the "Belarusian Gayun" monitoring group.
This aircraft can carry Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Ukrainian air defense forces cannot shoot down such missiles due to their high speed, so when MiG-31Ks take off from airfields, an air alert is announced throughout Ukraine.
On December 15, the deputy chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff, Oleksiy Gromov, reported that the MiG-31K dagger carriers and the A-50 aircraft had been returned to Belarus.
According to the Belarusian Gayun group, these Russian MiGs have registration numbers RF-92215, RF-92445 and RF-95194. They have already made at least 4 sorties (December 16, 17, 21 and 25).
During the two weeks of presence, all of these planes left Belarus, except for one — with the registration number RF-95194. It was this plane that apparently had an engine fire and is now unable to fly.
- The Kinzhal missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers. Its speed is 10 times greater than the speed of sound.