MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. A MiG-31 fighter jet of the Russian Northern Fleet practiced a dogfight in the stratosphere over the Barents Sea in drills, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"The crew of a MiG-31 fighter from a separate composite aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet practiced elements of an aerial combat in the stratosphere," the ministry said in a statement.

Under the scenario of the drills, a notional enemy aircraft approached the Russian state border. A MiG-31 fighter jet from the Northern Fleet’s air defense alert forces scrambled to identify the air target and prevent it from violating the airspace, the ministry explained.

During the drills, the Northern Fleet’s MiG-31 fighter climbed to an altitude of over 11,000 meters over the Barents Sea where it intercepted and notionally destroyed the intruder, it said.

The MiG-31 is a Soviet-and subsequently Russian-made long-range supersonic two-seat all-weather fighter jet. The aircraft is armed with a 23mm six-barrel gun. MiG-31 modifications can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles of various types, air bombs and hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles.