MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The crews of MiG-31 interceptor fighters from Russia’s Central Military District practiced complex aerobatic maneuvers as combat pairs and trained to intercept supersonic targets in the stratosphere during drills in the Perm Region, the District’s press office reported on Thursday.

"The pilots of MiG-31 high-altitude interceptor fighters performed solitary take-offs and united into pairs at an altitude of about 3,000 meters and practiced training missions aimed at improving interaction between the crews as combat pairs," the press office said in a statement.

At an altitude of over 16,000 meters, the pilots of MiG-31 fighters employed the Zaslon-M onboard radar to monitor the air situation. During patrols, the crews detected a target simulated by a MiG-31 fighter moving at a speed of about 2,300 km/h. The pilots promptly approached, took the aim and notionally destroyed the target, the statement says.

The MiG-31 crews also practiced complex aerobatic maneuvers. All the elements were performed at ultimate speeds of up to 3,000 km/h.

The maneuvers and the exercise to eliminate a notional intruder involved about 10 crews of high-altitude interceptor fighters, more than 40 personnel and about 50 items of ground equipment, the press office said.