Ukraine Strikes Major Blow to Russia’s Strategic Bomber Fleet: Key Fuel Depot in Flames

<p >On January 8 a Ukrainian long range drone strike successfully targeted the Kombinat Kristall fuel depot near the primary operational facility of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, Engels Airbase, sparking a large scale fire which engulfed large parts of the facility’s associated storage tanks. The attack is reported to have destroyed reserves of T-8V high-density specialised aviation fuel used by <a href=" target="_blank">Tu-160 bombers</a> based at the facility, which is produced through a complex refining process at only a small number of locations in Russia. The Tu-160 has been relied on increasingly heavily for intercontinental range nuclear deterrence, as well as for tactical strike roles, with <a href=" target="_blank">production of the aircraft </a>expected to expand the fleet from its current size of little over 20 aircraft to a fleet of 70. </p><p >The concentration of Tu-160 operations at Engels Airbase raises the significant possibility that T-8V may not be readily available from other facilities, which could potentially significantly impede operations. Although Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows for nuclear strikes to respond to conventional attacks that threaten its nuclear deterrent, Ukraine has launched such attacks multiple times in the past. Examples have included prior attacks on bomber bases and <a href=" >radar facilities</a>, including in mid-May 2024 an <a href=" >unprecedented strike</a> on a Voronezh-DM early warning radar system at the Armavir Radar Station.</p><p ><img src=" title="Russian Air Force Tu-160 Strategic Bombers" ></p><p >In January 2023 the head of leading Russian state tech firm Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, stated that the country was set to significantly<a href=" target="_blank"> increase production of the Tu-160M</a> bomber. The Tu-160 is a major part of Russia’s nuclear triad and, therefore, the upgrade of the operational aircraft and the resumption of the production of these strategic bombers are our priority task. The upgraded missile-carrying bombers outshine their predecessors in terms of their characteristics and have received new onboard radio-electronic equipment, NK-32-02 engines and other systems. The production of these aircraft will be ramped up in the coming years," he stated regarding the program’s future. The Tu-160 is widely considered the world’s most capable strategic bomber, and entered service in the Soviet Air Force in 1986 with a production run planned at 100 aircraft. With under 20 having served in the Russian Air Force due to the fallout from the USSR’s disintegration, and with progress <a href=" target="_blank">developing a next generation bomber </a>remaining slow, the Defence Ministry made a decision in 2015 to resume Tu-160 production. The fleet currently remains small, however, with the Russian Armed Forces being far more heavily invested in the land and maritime arms of its nuclear triad.  </p>