Military analyst and head of the Russian Union of Afghanistan Veterans Franz Klintsevich commented on the FSB’s successful prevention of an attempt to hijack a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet and take it abroad.

He recalled that similar incidents had occurred before — for example, the defection of a Soviet MiG-25 to Japan. At that time, he noted, Western intelligence was primarily interested in the aircraft’s fuel system and its «friend-or-foe» identification technology.

Now, Klintsevich said, the West’s chief interest lies in the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The United States still lacks such technology, and in his view, it will not develop anything comparable within the next fifteen years.

Although the MiG-31 itself is an older model, Russia continues to rely on it for its power, supersonic speed, and ability to carry the Kinzhal. The aircraft, he explained, provides the necessary launch altitude and speed for the missile to reach its full performance potential.

The Kinzhal travels at about seven kilometers per second, making interception virtually impossible. Because of this extreme velocity, Klintsevich noted, the missile hardly needs to maneuver in flight.

He described the attempted hijacking as both an intelligence-gathering and psychological operation organized by Western services, aimed at studying the Kinzhal’s capabilities. Klintsevich warned that such actions would likely continue, since, as he put it, «the West disregards all boundaries in pursuing its objectives.»

He emphasized that had the hijacking succeeded, Russia would have faced a very serious loss.