Russia sends hypersonic-armed fighter jets to Syria, report

Russian Mikoyan MIG-31 jet fighter aircraft is presented at the air show during the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon, on July 20, 2021, in Zhukovskiy, outside of Moscow, Russia [Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images]

Russia has deployed MiG-31K fighter jets with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and long-range Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bombers to its air base in Syria for naval exercises, Interfax news agency reported yesterday, citing the defence ministry.

According to Reuters, the aircraft dispatched to Russia’s Hmeimim Air Base will take part in exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, part of a surge of Russian military activity amid a standoff with the West over Ukraine and security in Europe.

Moscow announced on 20 January that its navy would stage an array of exercises involving all its fleets from the Pacific to the Atlantic, drawing on 10,000 servicemen, 140 warships and dozens of planes.

Russia sent fighter jets with Kinzhal missiles for the first time last year after expanding the runway at the base to handle such aircraft, said Rob Lee, a military analyst at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute.

He said the deployments pointed to Russia’s growing military presence in the Middle East and its ability to operate in different regions and to project power.

Russian media have said the Kinzhal hypersonic missile can hit targets up to 2,000 kilometres away. It is one of several strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2018.

READ: Russian, Syrian jets launch joint patrols over Syria’s borders

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