The MiG-31 Foxhound-A heavy interceptor is an aircraft of superlatives, with its maximum speed of Mach 2.8 (or a cruise speed of Mach 2.35), and 702nm supersonic or 1,620nm subsonic range. It's unique by virtue of its battery of 108nm-range heavy air-to-air missiles (AAMs) and its ability to operate autonomously with or without the support of a ground-controlled intercept (GCI) system. At the time of its design in the late 1960s, the MiG-31 was required to perform only one task: protection of the Soviet Union against attack by cruise missiles launched from heavy bombers or submarines and approaching over the vast uninhabited territories in Russia's North and Far East.
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