On the night of August 14, Ukraine launched a new series of successful strikes on Russian airfields. Among the targets were airbases near Voronezh, Borisoglebsk and the Russian airbase “Savasleyka” known to every Ukrainian, from which MiG-31K carriers of the Kh-47 “Kinzhal” regularly take off.
Defence Express writes about the reasonable hope that flights from it will be complicated for the enemy. This is evidenced by a video from the scene, where a resident of the Russian hinterland complains that the Russian air defense of this extremely important airfield cannot shoot down even one attack drone.
The reason is quite trivial – at the Savasleyka airbase, only anti-aircraft guns of the ZU-23-2 type and machine guns are apparently responsible for the entire air defense. The work of more powerful weapons has not been recorded. In contrast to the results of the strike. In particular, the NASA satellite service shows a powerful fire in the area of unloading and storing fuel and lubricants.
And when it comes to the MiG-31, it should be mentioned that it uses a rather specific fuel – T-6 kerosene. This is a special heavy heat-stable fuel designed for supersonic flights at high altitudes, during which the kerosene heats up to 100-150 degrees. Formally, the MiG-31 is allowed to use other fuels, for example, the most common RT kerosene, but with corresponding restrictions on flight modes. For example, without supersonic high-altitude flights, and without them, the launch of the X-47 “Dagger” is impossible.
It should be added that T-6 kerosene is used in the Russian Federation only in the MiG-31 and is a unique type of fuel specifically for it. Previously, it was also used by the MiG-25, but this machine has long been decommissioned. Another such type of fuel is T-8B, used in the Tu-160. These fuels are produced from certain types of oil and not at every oil refinery.
That is, even the destruction of fuel reserves, as well as part of the airfield’s fuel infrastructure, is already a significant enough result. And now the issue of basing MiG-31K at this airbase is in question. This, of course, does not mean that the enemy will not be able to move the aircraft to another airfield, but in any case, this is about additional complications for the enemy.
The NASA service records fires, not explosions. That is, it will not record the destruction of aircraft. Especially if we are talking about the fact that the Ukrainian drones were equipped with air-burst warheads. They are ideal for destroying aircraft in open areas. And this is exactly how MiG-31s are stored in Russia, because there were no shelters for them at the Savasleyka airfield.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.