Ukrainian drone raids strike deep into Russian territory

Ukrainians conducted drone attacks on three airports deep inside Russia during the night of August 13-14, 2024. One of the targets was the Savasleyka airfield, located more than 800 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. It houses MiG-31 aircraft carrying hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles. Here is what this highly problematic pair for Ukraine is capable of.

Ukrainians attacked Russian airfields located deep inside Russia with drones. This is not the first such instance, as Ukrainians have been regularly trying to destroy as many Russian aircraft on the ground as possible for several months, with varying degrees of success. Recently, the Morozovsk airfield was targeted, where an ammunition depot and one Su-34 tactical bomber were destroyed, as well as the Olenya airfield, located even up to 1,800 kilometres away, where two Tu-22M3 strategic bombers were damaged.

In this context, attacking the Savasleyka airfield about 800 kilometres away does not seem extraordinary until you check what is stationed there. The airport is very important for the Russians because it serves as a training centre and a base for MiG-31 interceptors carrying hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles.

Footage of the attack shows one of several drones hitting somewhere on the airfield. Reports indicate 10 explosions, which may be the result of an attack by this number of drones or fewer and secondary explosions, such as those of missiles or bombs stored at the airfield.

The consequences are still unknown, but the pro-Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber acknowledges that attacks on some of the three airfields were successful. The Russians also add that life at the most distant airfields is the calmest, which means it carries the risk of losses. Meanwhile, the Savasleyka base is the farthest of the three hits.

The MiG-31 aircraft was designed in the 1970s as a heavy interceptor fighter weighing 22,000 kilograms empty, evolving from the MiG-25 fighter. Its task was to combat NATO strategic bombers, and its features included an extensive range of about 5,000 kilometres, a powerful radar capable of independently detecting and eliminating targets at distances of several hundred miles, and a very high speed of about Mach 2.8.

For comparison, most fighter aircraft reach a maximum of Mach 2 or slightly above. Such high speed, combined with the unique MiG missiles R-33 or R-37 for the modernized MiG-31BM version, allows for combating enemy aircraft at distances of up to 190 kilometres or 300 kilometres, respectively.

Each aircraft carries four such half-ton missiles. It is also worth noting that the aircraft's speed during missile launch significantly impacts the maximum range, as it increases its kinetic energy.

Of course, the effective range will vary depending on the target because relatively slow targets such as transport aircraft or AWACS can be hit at the range limit. Meanwhile, the range for fighter jets will be smaller but still significantly greater than that of any machine available to the Ukrainians. Even F-16 aircraft with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles will be insufficient here.

Over time, the Russians also developed the MiG-31K version, intended solely for attacking ground targets with hypersonic Kh-47M Kinzhal missiles. These are particularly problematic because their speed of up to Mach 10 (about 12,000 kilometres per hour) makes them very difficult targets to intercept. Only a few air defence systems in the world, such as Patriot or SAMP/T, can handle them, and that too, within a range of about 30/40 kilometres from the launcher.

For this reason, Ukraine, equipped with only a few batteries, can protect only a few objects. At the same time, the rest are essentially defenceless against the Kinzhals, armed with a warhead of about 500 kilograms. The only advantage is that Russia has few of these missiles and cannot use them as often as it would like.

Because of this, each destruction of these missiles on the ground or damage to the aircraft carrying them is invaluable for Ukraine. It is also worth noting that Russia does not produce new MiG-31 aircraft so that any loss will be painful for them.