The Russian Defense Ministry has published a video of long-range aviation exercises. After taking off from the Engels Air Base near Saratov, the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers launched cruise missiles at targets at the Arctic test site.
- The launches were carried out normally, the missiles hit the targets, confirming the specified accuracy characteristics. The planes have covered more than 4,000 kilometers, the ministry said.
Bomber crews from the Amur and Ryazan regions took part in the training. The day before, they flew to the Saratov air base. The Amur residents on the way worked out the firing of their Tu-95MS stern guns at the training ground near Irkutsk. These rare shots were included in the video.
A pair of 23-millimeter rapid-firing GSH-23 cannons protects the Tu-95MS from an attack from behind. The remote-controlled turret rotates along the azimuth by 114 degrees, the vertical firing sector is 50 degrees up and 40 down. During the tests of 1987, the aft artillery installation thwarted an attack on an aircraft of such a formidable enemy as the MiG-31. The design of the Tu-95MS has a powerful electronic suppression system, which did not allow the interceptor to launch a missile. The MiG approached the bomber and its pilot reported: "I observe the target visually, I can work with a gun, it is impossible to make a tactical launch." In combat conditions, the interceptor would have already been shot down by the Tu-95 guns by that time.
At least once, the onboard artillery saved a bomber from another trouble. In 1985, while refueling in the air, the hose broke off, spilled over the fuselage and began to hit the steering wheels, threatening a catastrophe. By order of the commander, part of the hose was shot from the upper turret (there were several of them on the first versions of the Tu-95).
Anton Valagin
