Russia Deploys Newly Enhanced Tu-95 Bomber Variant For Cruise Missile Strikes in Ukraine

<p >The Russian state defence conglomerate Rostec has developed a new variant of the Tu-95MSM strategic bomber, which has benefitted from a number of lessons learned during operations in the Ukrainian theatre. The original Tu-95 bomber saw its first flight during the Korean War in 1952, although the aircraft currently in service were all built in between 1982 and 1993, and were designed as launch platforms for cruise missile strikes rather than for dropping gravity bombs. An upgrade package intended to bring the aircraft to the Tu-95MSM standard began development in 2009, and integrated the world's most powerful serial turboprop engine the NK-12MPM and new propellers onto the aircraft to facilitate an increased weapons carrying capacity and range. Upgrades also <a href=" target="_blank">doubled the aircraft’s weapons payload </a>and provided compatibility with the Kh-101/2 cruise missile, which serves as the aircraft’s primary armament. Wings were also strengthened to accommodate the new much larger missiles, while avionics including sensors and data displays were modernised comprehensively. </p><p ><img src=" title="Tu-95MSM Strategic Bomber"></p><p >Recent modernisation has reportedly particularly focused on improving the Tu-95MSM’s ability to integrate with their air, naval, and ground assets for joint operations, allowing the aircraft to function seamlessly as part of a broader network. The bomber’s avionics suite has also been enhanced to include navigation, communication, and control systems, facilitating more accurate mission planning and execution. Superior electronic warfare capabilities and defensive systems have also been integrated. The Tu-95MSM has been particularly valued for its ability to launch high-precision long range cruise missile strikes using the radar evading Kh-101, with improvements to avionics reportedly having further increased precision and improved mission success rates. The Kh-101 and its nuclear armed counterpart the Kh-102 are among the longest ranged cruise missiles in the world, with ranges exceeding 5000 kilometres. The missiles have demonstrated a previously unknown capability during the conflict to launch decoys to evade enemy air defences.</p><p ><img src=" title="Tu-22M3 Bomber with Kh-22 Cruise Missiles"></p><p >It has been reported that in the context of operations in the Ukrainian theatre, there has also been demand for a shorter ranged variant of the Kh-101 capable of carrying a larger explosive payload, with such a missile potentially also having applications in the event of a major conflict with NATO members. The Kh-101 has been used only in a small minority of <a href=" target="_blank">bomber attacks </a>on Ukrainian targets, with the majority of missiles launched by bombers <a href=" target="_blank">being Kh-22s</a> – an anti ship cruise missile class deployed by lighter Tu-22M3 bombers which Russia inherited in very large numbers from the Soviet era. While lacking the Kh-101’s precision, these older missiles were scheduled for retirement in the mid-late 2020s, and are thus highly and expendable, while also being more difficult to intercept than the Kh-101 due to their extreme speeds and complex trajectories. The Tu-95 is expected to play a central role in the Russian strategic bomber fleet into the 2030s, although its importance in the fleet is expected to gradually diminish as orders for 50 more modern Tu-160M bombers are gradually fulfilled. The first of these bombers were delivered in January 2022, with their production expected to be followed by deliveries of the country’s <a href=" target="_blank">first stealth bomber</a> developed under the PAK DA program.</p>