Russian Foxhound Intercepts Norwegian Electronic Attack Jet Over Barents Sea

On August 4th Russia’s armed forces scrambled a MiG-31 Foxhound heavyweight interceptor in response to an approach by a Norwegian electronic warfare and surveillance aircraft to the country’s borders. An official statement from the Russian military explained the incident as follows: "Russian air surveillance equipment detected an airborne craft flying over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea and approaching the Russian borders. [...] After the spy plane turned away from the Russian border [the MiG-31 fighter jet] returned to its air base safely.” The Russian National Defence Management Centre subsequently stressed that the interceptor was acting in accordance with international regulations in order to prevent the Norwegian jet from violating the Russian border. Norway’s location, near both Russia and the Arctic region, has made it increasingly critical for the wider interests of the Western Bloc, with the U.S. recently having expanded its military presence there and the Norwegian Air Force in 2019 activating its first squadron of F-35A stealth fighters. 

NATO aircraft have flown near Russia’s borders with increasing frequency since relations between the Western military bloc and Moscow deteriorated in 2014. The territory of Crimea, which the Western powers have claimed is Ukrainian territory and Russia claimed as a new province in 2014, has been particularly heavily targeted, and has been heavily militarised by Russian forces as a result. Russia has relied on its MiG-31 heavyweight interceptors and Su-27 heavyweight fighters for the vast majority of interception missions, and these modern variants of Soviet era aircraft form the bulk of its fleet with several hundred in service. Russia notably fields no classes of lightweight combat jets and very few medium weight jets, with the contraction of the fleet in the post-Soviet years leading it to place a greater emphasis on a small fleet of more elite aircraft. The MiG-31BSM, the most capable MiG-31 variant in service, is considered the most capable aircraft in air to air combat currently in Russian service. 

The Foxhound is the fastest and highest flying modern combat aircraft in the world, and has begun to deploy R-37 hypersonic air to air missiles with a very long 400km range and massive 60kg munitions payload making it particularly dangerous at long ranges. The MiG-31 integrates a larger radar than any other aircraft designed for air to air combat, and an advanced data sharing system allows multiple Foxhounds operating together to enjoy a very high level of situational awareness. The aircraft’s advanced flight performance has led it to be assigned new roles carrying specialised new types of missiles, including long range ship hunting and anti satellite warfare.