"Bear" among the clouds: why the old "Stalinist" bomber is still in service

  • Nov 21, 2021
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" Bear" among the clouds: why the old " Stalinist" bomber is still in service

Soviet turboprop strategic bomber-missile carrier Tu-95 aircraft, to put it mildly, not young. Suffice it to say that this destructive machine dates back to Stalin's times. Despite its venerable age, the Bear bomber remains in service with Russia to this day. What is the "mystery" of the Air Force veteran? Really, the domestic air force has nothing better and more modern?

Old but cool plane. | Photo: infosmi.net.
Old but cool plane. | Photo: infosmi.net.
Old but cool plane. | Photo: infosmi.net.

Strategic bomber Tu-95 or "Bear" (bear) according to NATO classification was created back in 1952. To date, a unique machine is in service with one single country - Russia. Not so many of these aircraft were produced. According to official data, exactly 60 Tu-95 bombers of all models are in service. The machine is a turboprop, which in the era of turbojet bombers may seem downright strange. However, this is where the whole "salt" of the question lies.

Almost invisible to satellites. | Photo: placepic.ru.
Almost invisible to satellites. | Photo: placepic.ru.
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In terms of its tactical designation, the Tu-95 bomber performs the same tasks as the American Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, which was born in the same 1952 year. The main difference between planes lies in the engines they use. The irony is that the most important advantage of the Soviet "Bear" became known only after the emergence of a developed network of spy satellites. The fact is that even modern equipment is frankly unimportant to cope with the detection of turboprop aircraft from space. Thus, the Tu-95 is not only a nuclear deterrent, but also a real "quiet horror" for US missile defense and intelligence.

Cold war plane. | Photo: voennoedelo.com.
Cold war plane. | Photo: voennoedelo.com.

It would be a mistake to think that the Tu-95 has not changed in any way over the past almost 70 years. The aircraft has been repeatedly modified and modernized. Today Tu-95MS is used in Russia. The crew of these aircraft is 7 people. The dimensions of the bomber are 49.09x50.04 meters (the length of the fuselage at the wingspan). An empty plane can carry 86.3 tons, and the maximum take-off weight can reach 156 tons. The veteran of the Air Force is powered by four NK-12M engines, which allow it to accelerate to 830 km / h at peak and up to 700 km / h in cruise mode. The combat radius of the aircraft is classified. The aircraft can carry up to 20.8 tons of combat load, and also has a pair of GSh-23 aircraft cannons.

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He served at the borders. | Photo: gunsfriend.ru.
He served at the borders. | Photo: gunsfriend.ru.

In Soviet times, Tu-95 aircraft were on alert along NATO borders. True, according to official data, they never had nuclear charges. The loading of nuclear bombs on the Tu-95 was carried out only once - during the Caribbean crisis. The bombers were based both in the USSR itself and in a number of countries of the socialist camp: in Cuba, Angola, Somalia, Guinea. According to some reports, the machines were used for reconnaissance flights during the Vietnam War. Tu-95 also took part as tracking aircraft during the space program of the USSR, with their help they searched for vehicles that had landed from space. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first episode of military use of the "ninety-fifth" was the Civil War in Syria. There, the bomber was used against terrorist groups.

Still in service. ¦ Photo: embed.dailystorm.ru.
Still in service. ¦ Photo: embed.dailystorm.ru.

If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about 5 domestic fighterswhich make the country's air defense system one of the best in the world.
A source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/230621/59500/

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