Six MiG-31 long-range interceptor aircraft reportedly been delivered to Syria.

Russia is pushing for a broad international coalition in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) featuring Syria, Iraq , the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as other nations in the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will host his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Monday.

The MiG-31 is a Russian long-range, high-altitude, and high-speed interceptor developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was the world's first operational fighter with a passive electronically scanned array radar (PESA), the Zaslon S-800. The heart of the system is the SBI-16 Zaslon radar, codenamed 'Rash Dance' by NATO. MiG-31 supersonic aircraft is equipped with two Solovyev D-30F6 turbofan shaft engines with a take-off thrust 15,500kgf each. The dry thrust of the D-30F6 is 9,500kgf for each engine. The engine provides a maximum speed of Mach 1.23 at low altitude and increases the aircraft's range. The MiG-31's main armament is four R-33 air-to-air missiles (NATO codename AA-9 'Amos') carried under the belly. Other weapons include the old AA-6 'Acrid', originally deployed on the MiG-25, and the Molniya R-60 or Vympel R-73 short-range IR missiles, carried on wing pylons.