MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. A MiG-31K fighter jet armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and a fifth-generation Su-57 plane will demonstrate their capabilities in the air for the first time at the Army-2018 forum, according to the program of events posted on the forum’s website on Tuesday.

The flights will be performed both on the days of limited attendance and on the days open for the public. Demonstration flights on limited attendance days will be held from 12:45 to 12:55 p.m. Moscow time on August 21-23. On the days open for the public, the planes will take to the skies at 13:49 p.m. Moscow time also for ten minutes. The demonstration flights will take place at the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow.

Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile system

The Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile system was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1. The Russian leader said the Kinzhal had an operating range of over 2,000 km. The MiG-31K fighter jet is the basic carrier of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles today.

During its use, the missile is accelerated by the aircraft to its maximum possible speed and after its release it switches on its solid-propellant engine and gains a hypersonic speed of 10 times the speed of the sound. The Kinzhal missile is capable of maneuvering at this speed and remaining actually invulnerable to the air defense and anti-ballistic missile systems existing today.

According to open sources, the Kinzhal was developed using the aero-ballistic missile of the ground-based Iskander tactical missile system with an operating range of 500km.

From December 1, 2017, Kinzhal hypersonic missile systems went on experimental combat duty at airfields of Russia’s Southern Military District.

Su-57 fifth-generation fighter

The Su-57 is a fifth-generation multirole fighter designed to destroy all types of air targets at long and short distances and hit enemy ground and naval targets, overcoming its air defense capabilities.

The Su-57 took to the skies for the first time on January 29, 2010. Compared to its predecessors, the Su-57 combines the functions of an attack plane and a fighter jet while the use of composite materials and innovation technologies and the fighter’s aerodynamic configuration ensure the low level of radar and infrared signature.

The Army-2018 international military and technical forum will run on August 21-26 at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Park outside Moscow.