The Drive was impressed by the photos of Tu-160, Tu-95 MS and Tu-22 M3 bombers, showing off fully armed.
The Drive portal was impressed by a photo report from the Engels long-range aviation unit (Saratov region, published recently by the Russian defense Ministry). It presents strategic bombers Tu-160, Tu-95 MS and Tu-22 M3 with the layout of their weapons. As the journalist notes, so far there have been very few opportunities to see these aircraft with a potential payload.
The first reviewer studied the ammunition of the Tu-160. The line closest to the aircraft consists of 12 x-55SM subsonic cruise missiles, which received the NATO code designation AS-15 Kent. This is a nuclear-armed weapon inherited from the Soviet Union, whose original design dates back to the late 1970s. It can be equipped with two conformal fuel tanks to increase the flight range. They are visible in the photo. Recently, cruise missiles have been developed based on the X-55SM in China and Iran.
In the second line of ammunition - a dozen samples of a more modern unobtrusive subsonic cruise missile X-101/102. This new-generation weapon was developed from the very beginning in the non-nuclear version of the X-101 (NATO AS-23A Kodiak) and the nuclear X-102 (AS-23B). Like the X-55SM, the missiles are equipped with dual-circuit engines.
It is reported that the maximum range of the x-101 rocket is up to 5500 kilometers.
The Tu-160's armament is located inside, in tandem bomb bays. Each contains a rotating launcher that can carry six missiles.
The Tu-95MS turboprop has the same weapons in its Arsenal as the Tu-160. Only the x-55CM missiles in the photo are six pieces, and the X-101/102 - eight.The fact is that the "Bear" presented here is equipped with four double suspension nodes under the wings, so that you can carry up to eight units of the X-101/102, which are too large to fit in the bomb Bay. The Tu-95MS is also equipped with the same rotating launcher, but since it has only one bomb Bay, its internal payload is reduced to six missiles.
The Tu-22M3 supersonic medium-range bomber with a variable sweep wing is shown in the photo exclusively with free-fall bombs. This is a pair of huge FAB-3000s, each weighing 3000 kilograms. They are followed by bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms. Additional bombs are installed on the aircraft's external carriers under the fixed wing section.
Surprisingly, the Tu-22M3 missile armament is not shown, the author is surprised. Although the bomber can carry a maximum of three, but most often one or two x-22 missiles, known in NATO as the AS-4 Kitchen, whose production began in the late 1960s. These weapons can be used against both important fixed ground targets and warships. The missile is capable of speeds in excess of Mach 4 and still remains a problem for air defense systems.
Despite their age, three strategic bombers of the Russian air force have useful capabilities, the journalist concludes at the end of the article. Currently, each of them is undergoing modernization, and in addition, production of the Tu-160 And its unique NK-32 engines has been resumed.
Oleg Koryakin