Satellite images have appeared in open access, which indicate that no later than October 15, 2023, the russian invaders in the temporarily occupied Crimea suddenly placed at least four MiG-31 aircraft at the Belbek airfield.
These aircraft are standing in open parking lots, between which improvised barriers have been installed - probably in order to reduce the possible flight of debris in the event of an attack by the Ukrainians.
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In addition, up to 10 Su-27 and Su-30 aircraft can be seen in these satellite images, either under cover or in sheltered stands. OSINT analyst MT_Anderson made the relevant images publicly available on his profile on X.
From Defense Express, we add the following to this story. The sudden appearance of russia’s MiG-31s in Belbek fully correlates with the intention of the russian federation to begin patrolling over the Black Sea by aircraft carrying the Kynzhal aeroballistic missiles. But on the other hand, these satellite images do not give a clear understanding of exactly which modification the occupiers have placed in Crimea.
Since we can also be talking about the MiG-31K, which, in fact, is the carrier of the Kynzhal missiles. In this way, Belbek can be a new airfield for performing demonstration flights, which can be accompanied by the announcement of alarms throughout the territory of Ukraine.
It is also possible that these could be MiG-31BM aircraft - interceptors capable of using R-37M air-to-air missiles with a launch range of approximately 200 kilometers. And then these aircraft may have a slightly different task - to prevent missile strikes by the Defense Forces of Ukraine against military facilities in the temporarily occupied Crimea, using subsonic cruise missiles of the Neptune, Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG types.
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