Moscow. July 8. INTERFAX.RU – During the exercise, strategic bombers Tu-160 and Tu-95MS launched cruise missiles at ground targets at a range in the Arctic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“The launches were carried out normally, the missiles hit targets at the range, confirming the specified accuracy characteristics,” the ministry said in a statement.
They noted that the aircraft took off from an airfield in the Saratov region, where they had previously been relocated from the Amur and Ryazan regions. During the flight, the crews covered over 4 thousand km.
In addition, the department reported that at the training ground in the Irkutsk region, the crews of the Tu-95MS aircraft of the Amur long-range aviation compound worked out practical firing from stern aircraft cannons.
“The flights were carried out from the home airfield, the flight duration was more than 6 hours,” the ministry said.
Planned tactical flight exercises with the participation of the crews of the Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Il-78 aircraft are being held under the direction of the commander of long-range aviation, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and will end on July 9.
Earlier, on July 6, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the start of maneuvers with the participation of Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers. During the training alert maneuvers, long-range aviation units were raised in the Saratov, Amur, Irkutsk and Ryazan regions, the military reported.
The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS aircraft are the air component of the Russian nuclear triad. They are designed to destroy the most important targets deep behind enemy lines with nuclear and conventional weapons.
Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic missile carrier-bomber with a variable sweep wing. It 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”) is the world's fastest turboprop serial missile carrier. It is equipped with 23 mm GSh-23 double-barreled cannons as defensive armament. It is also capable of carrying six cruise missiles located inside the fuselage in a bomb bay with a drum launcher and up to 10 missiles on an external sling.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS are routinely equipped with modern cruise missiles X-101 with a firing range of up to 4.5 thousand km and X-102 with a thermonuclear warhead.
