Tuesday 20 April 2021

Russian strategic aviation conducted exercises with missile launches

Mikhail Polyakov



Tu-160 photo from the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Moscow. April 19th. INTERFAX-AVN - During the exercise, strategic missile-carrying bombers Tu-160 and Tu-95MS launched cruise missiles at targets at the range in Komi, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

      "In total, about 10 long-range aircraft Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Il-78 were involved in the exercise," the message says.

     “During the flights of the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, long-range aviation pilots performed practical launches of cruise missiles at ground targets at the range in the Komi Republic. per hour, as well as aerial patrolling in a given zone. The duration of the flight mission was more than 7 hours, "the RF Ministry of Defense said.

     The flights took place as part of the command post exercise of the aviation formation in the Saratov region. The exercise was held within the framework of the control check carried out in the RF Armed Forces during the winter training period.

     The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS aircraft are the air component of the Russian nuclear triad. They are designed to deal with strike missions to defeat the most important targets in remote areas and deep in the rear of continental theaters of military operations.

     Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic missile carrier-bomber with variable sweep wing, developed at the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1970s-1980s. It is designed to destroy the most important targets deep behind enemy lines with nuclear and conventional weapons. The aircraft is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles on board, all weapons are located inside the fuselage. In Russia, the Tu-160 for its grace is called the "White Swan", according to the NATO codification - Blackjack ("Blackjack").

     Tu-95MS (NATO codification: Bear - "Bear") was put into mass production in 1981 as a modification of the Tu-95 strategic bomber, which had been in service with the Russian Air Force since 1957. The crew is seven people. The maximum payload mass is 20 tons.

     IL-78 is a tanker aircraft. The modernized Il-78 will allow for the simultaneous refueling of two front-line aircraft (such as Su-27, MiG-29) using refueling units installed on the wing. From the tail unit, it is possible to refuel long-range and special aircraft.

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@mod_russia
@mod_russia


Tu-160 Blackjack: Details
Tu-95MS / MSM Strategic Bomber: Details

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