Moscow, April 5: A new group of Mikoyan MiG-31BM Foxhound interceptor aircraft has been deployed in Russia's Novosibirsk region to protect industrial installations there, the defence ministry said.
The deployment is part of a programme to reinforce the air unit responsible for the safety of Siberian airspace, the ministry said in a statement.
Previously, the airspace over Novosibirsk was guarded by a unit of fighters based in the city of Omsk, but that was disbanded in 1998.
The MiG-31BM interceptor is a recently introduced upgraded version of the MiG-31, equipped with a new fire-control system, extending the aircraft's target detection range up to 320 km and engagement range up to 280 km.
