Russia confirmed that Ukraine targeted several of its airfields in a major drone strike, which has been considered an audacious attempt by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). At least 40 of Russia's strategic bombers were hit in the drone strike, believed to have been executed from unidentified locations inside the Russian mainland.
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Videos released by Kyiv showed stationary military aeroplanes caught like sitting ducks as FPV drones came crashing in. Many of the planes seen in these videos had giant propellers on their wings. They were the Tu-95MS bombers – a Soviet-era aircraft that is still part of the Russian Federation’s Air Force.
The Tu-95MS was first used in combat during the Syrian civil war and has been extensively used to target Ukrainian positions since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion began. The noisy giants, historically a replica of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, are said to be highly effective despite belonging to the Soviet era. Russian engineers have modernised them into a valuable asset for the Air Force, as they facilitate the transport and launch of heavy bombs and ballistic missiles. Thus, taking out or damaging the Tu-95MS is a significant win for Ukraine in the context of the conflict.
Here are five things that you may be interested to know about the Russian Tu-95MS aircraft.
1. The Tupolev Tu-95MS entered service in 1952 and is listed among the oldest aircraft designs still flying anywhere in the world. They were originally designed by the Communist regime to ensure they had a medium to deliver payloads to strike targets within the United States. However, they were never used in combat until the 21st century. It was Vladimir Putin who finally sent the bombers on a bombing mission in 2015 while assisting Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. Since the full-scale war against Ukraine began, Russian pilots have routinely used the Tu-95MS.
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2. They are the only propeller-powered bombers still in operation anywhere in the world. The tips of the propellers rotate faster than the speed of sound, creating a deafening noise when airborne. According to defence reports, the United States Navy famously claimed that the passive sonars of submerged submarines were able to hear a Tu-95 flying overhead. Crew members routinely flying in these giants were at risk of losing their hearing due to the noise, another report stated.
3. The Tupolev Tu-95MS is also known by the name "Bear", as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) gave it the codename “Bear-H”. Unsurprisingly, it remains among the oldest aircraft designs still in use, yet it is capable of covering distances greater than 9,300 miles (15,000 km).
4. These Russian propeller-powered bombers are not fast, as they were designed to cover great distances at a steady pace. According to reports, the Tu-95MS holds a distinct record of being the aircraft chosen to drop the largest atomic bomb in history. When Nikita Khrushchev tested the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested, it was a Tu-95MS that dropped the 30-tonne, 26-foot-long, 6-foot-wide bomb on the island test site in the Barents Sea. Despite the shockwaves of the blast catching up, the plane was able to protect the crew, one report said.
5. "Currently ongoing modernisation of Russia's Tu-95MS bombers is aimed primarily at the aircraft’s armament, namely the adaptation of the new Kh-101/102 stealth cruise missile. The modernisation includes installation of four underwing pylons for up to 8 Kh-101/102 cruise missiles, as well as adjustments to the aircraft’s main weapons bay for cruise missiles the size of the Kh-101/102 (7.5 metres)," a US military report said. The modern variants are 49.13 m long and 50.04 m wide, weigh 91.8 tonnes, and have the capability to carry 187,000 kg after refuelling, the report added.