Modernized Russian Tu-95MSM Strategic Bomber has Doubled its Combat Capabilities
Russia’s heavily upgraded Tu-95MSM strategic bomber that took to the skies for the first time recently has capabilities equal to Tu-95MS multiplied by two.
The aircraft took off from Taganrog Aviation Plant on August 22 and flew for 2 hours and 33 minutes. It attained an altitude of 9000m, Russian MoD said in a statement Sunday.
A video released by manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) shows the Russian bomber with its peculiar coaxial contra-rotating propellers, taxiing, taking off, performing a fly by and landing.
The Tupolev Tu-95MSM has received a brand new Novella-NV1.021 phased array radar, a new flight control and information display system, and Meteore-NM2 airborne defence complex that is reportedly “capable of jamming enemy ground and aircraft-based radar.”
The aircraft also features a new SOI-021 information display system, weapons control system, and is powered by upgraded 15,000hp Kuznetsov NK-12MPM turboprop engines. These are said to increase the range of the strategic bomber and halve the level of the motors’ vibration.
“This is an aircraft with a new set of weapons, new onboard electronic equipment, new modified engines, new propellers. The combat capabilities of the plane have doubled after this modernisation,” Yuri Slyusar, general director of UAC, told defense ministry-run Zvezda.
Slyusar noted that tests of the upgraded plane will continue, after which, the entire fleet of long range bombers will undergo modernization.
Russia to Modernize Tu-95MSM Strategic Bombers
Russian Tu-95 Bombers Strikes ISIS Targets In Syria Using Latest Kh-101 Cruise...
Upgraded Tu-95 Strategic Bomber Joins Russian Air Force
American Hypersonic Missiles in Sight as Russia Forms First S-500 Air Defense...
Houthi Missile Hits Israel’s Tel Aviv, 16 Injured
Poland Orders Four Reconnaissance Microsatellites
U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing
Russian Su-57 and Chinese J-20 as Alternatives to the American F-35 Stealth Fighter
As the Russian Su-57 stealth fighter jet enters serial production, the debate over how it stacks up against the American...
NATO’s Intensified Exercises a Prep to Attack Russia?
Recent NATO exercises such as the BALTOPS-24, Steadfast Defender 2024 and its first-ever Basic Fighter Maneuvers exercise have been its...
Precision in the Skies: The Evolution of Loitering Munitions
Loitering munitions - drones that hover over a target and blow up near it - have become the weapon of...
Is the Patriot Air Defense System Outdated?
After Israel revealed its decision to decommission its U
Russia's Growing Influence in Africa: Arms Sales and Military Bases
Russia's expanding influence in Africa, demonstrated by arms sales, military deployments, and diplomatic engagements, reflects a significant geopolitical shift on...