russia’s mig-31 crews are shooting at ukrainian pilots from a hundred miles away—and the ukrainians can’t shoot back

Hamstrung by inflexible procedures, short of weaponry and battered by Ukrainian air-defenses, Russian Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily, or VKS, at best is holding its own over Ukraine, despite 10-to-one in fighters and attack jets compared to Ukrainian air force..
The three regiments flying VKS's best interceptor, are winning where most of the rest of the air force is losing..
VKS's defensive patrols have proven highly effective against Ukrainian attack aircraft and fighters, with MiG-31BM and R-37M long-range air-to-air missile being problematic, Justin Bronk, Nick Reynolds and Jack Watling wrote in new study for Royal United Services Institute London..
evolution of the classic, Cold War-vintage Mikoyan MiG-25 — plane Russians designed to intercept U.S.
MiG-31 flies higher, faster and farther than Ukrainian air force's best Sukhoi Su-27 interceptors.
From their perch, MiG-31 crews can search for targets with Zaslon radar and fire single, underbelly R-37M at targets as far as 200 miles away —.
VKS maintained around-the-clock patrols in eight zones over Ukraine, each patrol involving pair of MiG-31s or pair of Sukhoi Su-35s..
The patrols were hunting for Ukrainian attack planes, supporting the counteroffensives.
VKS has been firing up to six R-37Ms during October, Bronk, Reynolds and Watling wrote, and the high speed of the weapon, coupled with very long effective range and seeker designed for engaging low-altitude targets, makes it particularly difficult to evade...
Ukrainian forces have come to landing blow on MiG-31 force was their bombardment of Belbek air base back October.
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