Aircraft alarms in Ukraine. That's why it last longer and longer

Each takeoff of the Russian MiG-31K plane causes an alarm throughout Ukraine. It only goes silent when the machine lands. Initially, such alarms lasted about 20 minutes, but recently they have extended to over 3 hours. What does this mean, and how long can MiGs stay in the air?

Russian MiG-31 planes terrify Ukrainians. Every time such a machine takes off, an alarm is sounded throughout the country. This is due to the fact that the modified MiG-31K aircraft currently used by the Russian Federation are capable of carrying Kh-47M Kindzhal hypersonic missiles weighing over 4 tons, very high speed (Mach 8-10) and a range of 2,000 km.

In short: such weapons threaten the entire territory of Ukraine.

Alarms are getting longer and longer during MiG-31K flights

That is why the alarm is announced when such a plane takes off and is canceled only after landing. Meanwhile, Russia regularly extends the flights of these machines. For example, on November 10, 2023, the MiG-31K remained in the air for 3 hours and 37 minutes. This raises two questions:

1) why is this happening?

2) what is the longest such a flight can last?

To answer the first question first: the extended flight times are because Russia has moved from take-off and landing tests to actual training flights. In addition, air refueling exercises for MiGs began. This is what makes these planes unable to land for many, many hours. How many?

How long can the MiG-31K stay in the air?

The exact characteristics of the MiG-31K aircraft have not been disclosed. However, the official documentation for the base model (MiG-31) states that the maximum flight time with hanging tanks is just over 3.5 hours, and in the option with air refueling — 7 hours. However, such a seven-hour flight requires three refueling using Il-78 tankers.

However, the maximum flight time is influenced by more factors than just the capacity of the fuel tank and fuel consumption. Piloting a fighter also requires enormous concentration, which is difficult to maintain for so many hours. The final time may also vary depending on the load or speed maintained.

Taking all this into account, representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces claim that MiG-31K aircraft with Kh-47M Kindzhal missiles on board can remain in the air for approximately 1.5 hours before their tanks run out of fuel. After refueling in air — it takes longer. It is already known that at least up to 3.5 hours.