Russian strategic aircraft Tu-160 and Tu-95MS have once again confirmed their high combat effectiveness. During the command and staff exercise, their crews, who rose from the Engels air base in the Saratov region, successfully hit targets with cruise missiles at the Pemboy training ground in the Komi Republic. In total, about a dozen aircraft were involved in the exercise. And the precise strikes of the missile carriers were recorded by means of objective control.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the cruise missile launches were made during the more than 7-hour flight of the Tupolevs. In the sky at an altitude of more than 6 thousand meters and a speed of about 600 kilometers per hour, the crews also refueled their cars with fuel from Il-78 tanker aircraft. All these elements of piloting and combat use were performed by the Russian Long-range aviation pilots as part of the air patrol of their assigned zones.
"The main task of the flight crew is to work out confident and organized actions when performing tasks for their intended purpose," said Major General Alexander Tsylev, Deputy Commander of the Russian Long - Range Aviation.
I must say that the training tasks at the Pemboy training ground, 60 kilometers from Vorkuta, are constantly being solved by the crews of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, as well as the Tu-22MZ long-range bombers, fly here. Routes to the Republic of Komi are laid both from the Engels air base located near Saratov, and from the Far Eastern military airfields.
Recall that on August 17, 2005, during a strategic aviation exercise, a Tu-160 bomber, carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin, launched several cruise missiles at the Pemboy test site. More precisely, they covered the building of the empty house of culture of the former mining village of Halmer-Yu, on the territory of which this landfill is located.
Pemboy is also known as a training site for Mig - 31 high-altitude interceptor crews. Often, cruise missiles launched by "strategists" serve as targets for their strikes. And a few years ago, at this test site, the military for the first time tested the ability of anti-aircraft missile and gun systems "Pantsir-S" to shoot down real cruise missiles. Prior to this, the new air defense systems worked only for targets-imitators of such weapons.
Although the Tu-160 has been in service for decades, this aircraft was and remains the fastest strategic missile carrier in the world. It is designed to defeat the most important targets with nuclear and conventional weapons. In the sky, this plane accelerates to 2200 kilometers per hour. Its length is 54.1 meters, height-13.1 m. The practical range of flight is 14 thousand km. The Tu-160 is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles on board. All weapons are placed inside the fuselage.
The Tu-95MS has also long been registered in the Russian and world skies. For its impressive size - the wingspan of the Tupolev is more than 50 meters - and powerful weapons in the West, it is called Bear (bear). The Tu-95MS is used to defeat the most important targets in remote areas and in the deep rear of continental theaters of war.
Both strategic missile carriers are currently undergoing deep modernization. In addition, a completely new Long-range aviation complex is being created in Russia.
Yuri Gavrilov
