Russia has officially announced the PAK-DP (Prospective Air Complex for Long-Range Interception) program, which aims to develop a replacement for the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-31 fighter-interceptor, designated Foxhound in NATO. 

State-owned Rostec said on January 22 that the PAK-DA program, which aims to develop a new bomber, has already started, while the PAK-DP is still in the development phase. The new fighter, designated the MiG-41, is expected to enter service around 2028. 

The news comes about five and a half years after the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, said in August 2015 that development work would be launched in 2019. gave more details about the MiG-41 project. 

Currently, VKS is upgrading 130 fighters, out of a fleet of nearly 200 units, to the MiG-31BM standard. This upgrade covers avionics, cockpit displays, datalinks, radar and fire control systems, refurbishment of the fuselage and landing gear, allowing the aircraft to remain in service until 2030.

The MiG-31 Foxhound was developed in the 70s as a replacement for the MiG-25 Foxbat. Despite its primary role as a long-range interceptor, the aircraft can employ Kh-58 anti-radar missiles; recently there was the integration of hypersonic missiles Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, which can reach speeds in excess of Mach 10. The fighter is in service in Russia and Kazakhstan. 

With Janes