As part of the ZAPAD 2025 Exercises carried out by the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus, MiG-31BM interceptors of the Aerospace Forces conducted escort missions for Tu-22 and Tu-160 bombers, which were engaged in combat training flights over the airspace of the Barents Sea. According to official reports, the flight lasted about four hours in total and was intended for pilots to incorporate lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, while remaining at all times in compliance with international regulations governing flights in neutral airspace.
Expanding on some of the details of the activity, the Tu-22 and Tu-160 bombers carried out simulated electronic cruise missile launches, aiming to assess procedures and the performance of the units in attacking a critical target of a hypothetical enemy. Throughout the mission, the MiG-31BM interceptors flew alongside the bombers to ensure their protection.
In this regard, it was specified that two MiG-31BM took part in the activity, which had been scrambled under a quick reaction alert order from a nearby operational airfield. During the flight, the aircraft received coordinates from ground-based radar units to join the aforementioned bomber force, after which they proceeded to the operational zone and began their own scanning of the area.
Quoting excerpts from the official statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense: “As part of the joint strategic exercise Zapad-2025, a pair of MiG-31BM aircraft of the Aerospace Forces provided combat escort along the flight route for long-range aviation crews in Tu-22M3 aircraft and established air barriers in the area where they were to attack a simulated enemy at one of the training ranges.”
Looking more broadly at the Zapad 2025 exercise, the main goal is to test defense capabilities for the protection of the borders of the so-called “Union State” formed by Moscow and Minsk, which is taking place in Belarus’s eastern regions. In concrete terms, this translates into the deployment of about 7,000 troops, a reduced figure compared to the 13,000 originally announced by the Belarusian government, and certainly a minimal fraction of the 200,000 who participated in the 2021 edition. In addition, the activities are being observed by defense blocs led by Russia and its ally China.
Given the scale of the deployment, the exercise quickly drew reactions from European countries bordering Russia and Belarus, most notably through the Iron Defender 2025 exercise, held on a calendar overlapping with ZAPAD 2025. In this case, some 30,000 troops were deployed by Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. For his part, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Moscow of conducting aggressive military activities, in parallel with rising tensions between the two countries over the entry of Russian drones into Polish territory.
Image credits: Russian Ministry of Defense
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