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Tu-22M3. Source: Defense Express
The terrorist country Russia carefully conceals information about the real number of Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. However, according to preliminary data, the aggressor may still have more than fifty such aircraft in service.
At the same time, the enemy continues to lose Tu-22M3 due to combat operations and technical failures. Military expert Oleh Katkov spoke about this on the air of TV channel Espresso.
According to him, preliminary data show that by the middle of 2023, Russia had 57 strategic bombers Tu-22M3 in service. However, Katkov claims that the real number of these aircraft is smaller.
The expert stressed that one of the bombers was shot down by the S-200 air defense system in April 2024. Another Tu-22M3 crashed the other day in the Irkutsk region due to a technical malfunction.
Katkov also noted that two bombers were damaged at the Olenya airbase in Murmansk region, and another one was destroyed in 2023 at the Soltsy airfield.
The expert said that before the start of a full-scale war, Russia planned to modernize 30 Tu-22M3 aircraft to prolong their operation. He noted that the production of engines for the Tu-22M3 ceased back in 1996.
"Obviously, the Russian Federation has problems maintaining these aircraft in appropriate combat readiness. At present, the main bomber the Russian Federation has is the Tu-95, and according to papers, there are about 40 of them. Information about the actual number of Tu-22M3 aircraft is hidden because there are significant problems. Engines for these aircraft have not been produced since 1996," Katkov added.
The Tu-22M3 is Russia's modernized version of the Soviet Tu-22M aircraft. The supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber was developed to hit sea and land targets with cruise missiles, including nuclear warheads and aerial bombs.
Its main weapon is the Kh-22N anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile with a lightweight high-explosive warhead and the Kh-22PSI missile with a megaton warhead. This bomber can also be equipped with unguided bombs.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the fall of the Tu-22M3 bomber. Subsequently, it became known that one of the pilots of the bomber died in hospital.
As reported, on April 19, Ukrainian defenders destroyed the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber of the occupants for the first time.
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