Russian Bears, Blackjacks, Backfires & other bombers

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vedang

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F-15 Eagle said:
No from what I can tell the TU-22M and Su-34 are for Russia only, because no one else has expressed interest in these aircraft.
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What happened to the interest the IAF (Indian Air Force) had in Tu-22 (Backfire, I guess?) Last I heard, Akula and Backfire are in a 2-in-1 deal(probably some rumor in a forum). Anyone having any news bout this??
 
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F-15 Eagle

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vedang said:
What happened to the interest the IAF (Indian Air Force) had in Tu-22 (Backfire, I guess?) Last I heard, Akula and Backfire are in a 2-in-1 deal(probably some rumor in a forum). Anyone having any news bout this??
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I don't know what the Indian Air force will have for bombers, ecept around 8 TU-142 maritime reccon. aircraft.
 
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Firehorse

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More on Tu-95- Russia's Bear bomber returns
http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/v-vs_tu-16pp_over_cv-63_kitty_hawk.jpg

I also would like to know the fate of Tu-16s. They are no longer active-will Russia just keep them in reserve or sell them to China or other type operators for parts?
The TU-16 remained in Soviet and later Russian service until 1993. They were used during the war in Afghanistan. The Badger is used by Egypt, Iraq, the People's Republic of China (H-6), and Ukraine. In 1958, delivery of TU-16 bombers to China began, where series production received the designation H-6. In the summer of 1961, twenty TU-16KS were sold to Indonesia. In the 1960s, TU-16 bombers were delivered to Egypt which also received TU-16KS aircraft in 1967 and Tu-16K-11-16 in 1973. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/bomber/tu-16.htm
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icekid

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I heard that upgraded Tu-160 has stealth capabilities can someone give any info... I googled but it did not help
 
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Ozzy Blizzard

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icekid said:
I heard that upgraded Tu-160 has stealth capabilities can someone give any info... I googled but it did not help
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It probably didnt help because it isnt true? How is the blackjack going to achieve any sort of LO capability? Spray on RAM? :eek:nfloorl: The only kind of LO tech i can think of would be a new EWSP suite.
 
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Firehorse

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Russian bombers to test-fire missiles in Bay of Biscay

Russian bombers joined aircraft carriers, battleships and submarine hunters from the Northern and Black Sea fleets for the Atlantic exercises, which come as the country enters an election campaign to choose a successor to President Putin.
“The air force is taking a very active part in the exercises of the navy’s strike force in the Atlantic,” the Russian air force said in a statement reported by Reuters. “Today, two strategic Tu-160 bombers departed for exercises in the Bay of Biscay, which ... will carry out a number of missions and will conduct tactical missile launches." .. There was no further information about where in the Bay of Biscay, which lies off the west coast of France and the northern coast of Spain, the missile tests were due to take place.
Russia’s air force said turbo-prop Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers, codenamed “Bear” by Nato, would join ATO, would join the exercise on Wednesday. “From January 23, the aviation component in the zone where the exercises are going on will be widened and the following planes will take part: Tu-160, Tu-95, Tu-22 M3, Il-78, A-50,”, the air force said.
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I suspect that those bombers will practice attacking the CBG, as well as supporting it!

Russian Bombers Video Footage

Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback -Russia's New Heavy Strike Fighter

http://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Tupolev_Tu-95

http://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Tupolev_Tu-16

http://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Tupolev_Tu-22M
 
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Firehorse

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article

According to Russian sources, even at the time of the first round of long-range training flights, the Norwegian military classified the Russian heavy bomber missions as “unusually lengthy” and “reaching farther south” than usual. [11] A similar assessment was given three weeks later by U.S. Air Force General Gene Renuart, who commented that “over the last probably three months or so the Russians have been flying their bomber force maybe a little bit more than we’ve seen in the past; certainly they’re ranging farther than they have in the past.” [12]
On August 8-9, the Russian Air Force conducted another large-scale exercise; approximately 30 bombers (four Tu-95, 12 Tu-160, 14 Tu-22M3, and four refueling Il-78) flew toward the North Pole, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans, including toward Guam, home of a major U.S. military base. [13]
The exercises, which Putin announced on August 17, were apparently the third in a series. Thus, his speech at the Chebarkul training center did not inaugurate a new policy – although it was probably meant to sound as if it did – but rather made public a policy that had been in effect for more than a month. The time and place for that announcement were deliberately chosen to maximize the political effect and were probably intended as much for Russia’s SCO allies as for the West. ..
The next round of patrols took place two weeks later, on September 5-6, 2007. The new series of flights took Russian heavy bombers “around the corner” to the northern Atlantic, to the Sea of Japan, and beyond the North Pole. [14] On September 14, it was announced that two Tu-160s were sent to patrol the Arctic Ocean for 15 hours. [15]
The missions flown since mid-July reveal a rather stable pattern; they all have been training flights that lasted less than 24 hours and usually involved 10 or more aircraft simultaneously flying in different directions. Russia has not attempted to maintain a permanent presence in the air, suggesting that there was no intention to transition to a “war posture.”
The choice of patrol areas, however, suggests that the Russian Air Force continues to train for combat missions even though Putin emphasized in his August 17 statement that patrols would be conducted in the areas of Russian economic interests and active shipping, rather than in regions required for “deterrence of a missile-nuclear attack on Russia.” [16] In fact, the list of areas unveiled since July closely correlates with missions flown by heavy bombers during almost every large-scale exercise since 1999. During these exercises heavy bombers apparently simulated limited strikes (against targets in the United States, NATO, other U.S. bases, and naval targets) in response to attacks against Russia by the United States and its allies. Even the flight toward Guam in August 2007 was not particularly new; in 2003, Russian Tu-95s flew to the Indian Ocean to practice cruise missile launches against land-based targets (presumably the U.S. base at Diego Garcia). Training for these types of missions fits the “de-escalation” strategy set forth in Russia’s 2000 Military Doctrine and subsequent documents. [17] The only difference is that previously these missions were flown only once or twice a year and only in the context of large-scale maneuvers that involved all or most branches of the armed forces, while now they are being undertaken more often and independently of other services. ..This is simply enhanced training, he said, an opportunity for heavy bomber crews to “restore qualifications that had been lost in previous years.” [21] He also praised the “calm and pragmatic” reaction to enhanced training in the United States, which, he claimed, demonstrates that “experts understand that the words of the Russian President about combat patrols mean something other than what they meant during the Cold War.” In the future, funding permitting, the same pattern will be expanded to other elements of the Air Force, he added. http://www.wmdinsights.org/I19/I19_R1_RussianStrategic.htm
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During recent Russian N/AF exercises there were 2 ТU-160s, 2 Тu-95МSs, 8 Тu-22М3s, 2 А-50s, аnd 2 IL-78 tankers.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080201/98151565.html
The bombers were escorted by 4 МiG-31s & 12 Su-27s. According to this article, "the crews were practicing recon, striking enemy CSG ships with missiles/bombs, conducting air-to air combat, and CAPs."

And just recently,
The adviser of the Russian long-range aviation, Major-General Valentin Rog, said that “in modern conditions and in the interests of national security, the long-range aviation is assigned to solving a number of important tasks, including a qualitatively new one – destruction of formations of ships carying cruise missile in the ocean.
Rog said NATO navy forces used 870 cruise missiles, including 792 ship-borne, during the assault of Yugoslavia.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12370495&PageNum=0
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More pics & videos:
http://extrados.mforos.com/620465/4489920-bombarderos-rusos-vuelan-sin-ser-detectados-por-el-artico/
 
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Dr Freud

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Tu-160 doesnt have stealth, but it has a VERY strong EW capability, and this, combined with its speed on afterburner makes it a fearsome opponent.

Tu 22m with its speed and awesome missiles, is one of my favorite bombers.

Tu 95 bear as a recon has no equal in endurance, and impressive speed and range, i havnt got a clue why the russians dont use them for AWACs, i would!
it would be perfect asigning a Tu 95 AWAC to kushnetov battlegroup
 
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Firehorse

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They had TU-126 Moss AWACS, based on Tu-114 civilian airliner, itself based on Tu-95, and some of them may be held in reserve.
In 1958 the Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered to design an AWACS aircraft. After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu-95 and a Tu-116, the decision was made to use the Tu-114 fuselage instead. This solved all the problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu-95 and Tu-116 fuselage. To adhere to the flight range requirements, the plane was fitted with an air-to-air refuelling receiver. The last Tu-126 was retired in 1984 The Tu-126 was used by the Soviet Air Force, until being replaced by the Beriev A-50. The Tu-126 was also leased by India in conflicts with Pakistan, and the result was satisfactory by Indian standard.
http://www.truveo.com/Tupelov-Tu126-Moss/id/1020619939

The aircraft is believed to have entered service in 1971 although it will have had periodic updates to its systems during its service career. Like many AWACS it was designed to work with interceptors guiding them against intruding aircraft and providing the best interceptor vectors. It is though around 12 of these aircraft were constructed and they were never exported. It was supplemented and then replaced in service by the Il-76 ‘Mainstay’.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_tu126.html
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New pictures of F-22s Bear intercept off Alaska! Notice that the raptor has a fuel drop tank for long duration mission. Normally, f-15s would be doing this, but they were grounded.
 
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Firehorse

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Bear-Hunters, Part 1

Bear Hunters, Part 4

PACIFIC (Feb. 2, 2008) - An F/A-18 Hornet from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) escorts a Russian Tu-95 Bear, long range bomber aircraft on Feb. 9, 2008 south of Japan. The bomber neared the vicinity of the carrier resulting in the fighter intercept. Nimitz was transiting through the Western Pacific on a regularly scheduled deployment when the incident occurred. U.S. Navy Photo
http://www.iraqwarnews.net/labels/US Navy.html
U.S. Navy A Russian Bear-H bomber recently flew over the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Pacific. It was shadowed by a U.S. warplane. http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080307/NATION04/676427087/0/EDITORIAL
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Firehorse

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I wonder if those tail cannons can be used against incoming A2A missiles as well?-
..the tail turrets of the Tu-22M 'Backfire' bomber and some late-model Tu-95s. In that application, it had the unusual ability to fire infrared flares and chaff rounds, allowing it to function as both a weapon and a dispenser of anti-missile countermeasures.
http://www.top40-charts.info/?title=Gryazev-Shipunov_GSh-23L
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Armament: The Tu-142M can carry 12 torpedoes, FAB 250 freefall bombs and depth charges. It has a DK-12 rear gun system with two 23mm AM-23 cannons. In the late 1990s, it was announced that the Sea Eagle AShM would be integrated with the aircraft.
www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Tu-142.html
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And In this picture, the tail guns are not pointed upward, as they should be during peacetime intercepts!





http://video.aol.com/video-detail/tupolev-tu-22-m3-backfire/1304489816

F-15 Eagle said:
No from what I can tell the TU-22M and Su-34 are for Russia only, because no one else has expressed interest in these aircraft.
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Well, from the link I posted here before:
The more probable client in the forseeable future is China. Russian media reports indicate that a cabinet level PRC delegation visited the NAPO plant in Novosibirsk to inspect the Fullback production line. Unlike PLA-AF Badgers which have the option of launching long range land attack cruise missiles from outside the footprint of interceptor and SAM defences, the same is not true for PLA-AF and PLA-N maritime strike operations against surface warships, especially in the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea. In a time of confrontation, this would be airspace contested by RoCAF fighters and likely US Navy F/A-18s, yet the Badgers must close to a radar line of sight with their targets before they can launch their missiles. Anti-submarine patrol sorties also present a genuine challenge, with a real strategic need for the PLA-N due to Taiwan's SSK fleet planning and the prospect of US Navy SSNs blockading Chinese ports. The PRC faces a strategic problem not unlike the AV-MF did in defending its maritime bastions - turboprop LRMP aircraft stand little chance of surviving to perform their role.
We should not be surprised if the PLA-N air arm does order the Su-34, the Su-32FN, or some mix or hybrid of these types. The aircraft is a much better fit for the role than the current batch of several dozen Su-30MK2, and can absorb the littoral maritime patrol/ASW role. This would permit remaining PLA-N H-6D Badgers to be converted into tankers to support the Sukhois.
http://www.defencetalk.com/forums/ext.php?ref=http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Fullback.html
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Firehorse

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Morrigan

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Talking vintage Russian bombers, and there's no mention of the badger? Russians may not be using her any more, but she's still in service.

 
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