Russian MiG-31K Mysterious Maneuver: What Happened In Machulishchy

There are two versions.

Yuriy Ihnat, speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, answered NV's question why three Russian MiG-31K fighters, due to the takeoffs of which Ukraine is declaring an air alert, suddenly left the Belarusian airfield Machulishchy.

The first version is the need for repairs or routine maintenance, which Russian aircraft must undergo at the airfields of the main base. “This is aircraft, this is equipment, so it is necessary to carry out routine maintenance from time to time,” Ihnat explained.

He also noted that Belarus cannot repair Russian MiGs of this type, since its air forces do not have such equipment in their arsenal.

Another of the likely reasons for the departure of the Russian MiG-31K, which are potential carriers of the Kh-47M Kinzhal hypersonic missile, according to the speaker, could be the rotation. “In this case, some planes will be delivered [to their main bases], while others will fly in,” Ihnat suggests. He adds that such cases have already happened before, when several MiG-31Ks flew to their main airfields, and other fighters returned to their place.

“Therefore, it should be understood that MiG-31K fighters will still return [to Belarusian airfields] in any case,” the Air Force speaker predicts.

It is important to note that on April 6, three Russian MiG-31K fighters left the Belarusian airfield Machulishchy, where they had been based since December 2022 and stayed for 113 days. During this time, Russian carriers of Kinzhal missiles made 39 sorties, during which an air raid alert was announced throughout Ukraine.

The Belarusian monitoring groups also note that this was the second shift for aircraft of this type. Earlier, three MiG-31Ks of the Russian Aerospace Forces flew to Belarus in October 2022 and stayed there for 46 days.