Badnews is logging in the Russian warfront as Ukraine successfully crashes the rival’s Tu-22M3 bomber.
The mainstay of the Russian bomber fleet along with Tu-95 and Tu-160, costing about $100 million was hit by Ukrainian drones a few days ago.
Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said, “A few days ago, our successful operations destroyed a Tu-22M3 bomber plane. Just as it landed, it was hit by our drone.”
These claims were also published by the official account of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the social media site X.
Syrskyi did not specify when and where the attack took place. He also did not mention which drone was used in that alleged high-value attack and how much explosive it packed.
However, a typical Ukrainian drone costs a few thousand dollars, as opposed to the US$100 million Russian bomber.
The claims are viewed as unprecedented because neither Russia nor war-tracking open-source intelligence (OSINT) accounts have reported the destruction of a fixed-wing aircraft by a Ukrainian drone in recent times.
Earlier, Russian officials announced on April 2 that a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber crashed in the Irkutsk region of southeastern Siberia due to a technical malfunction.
The EurAsian Times could not ascertain whether the Ukrainian claims and the Tu-22M3 crash are linked due to a paucity of information from Russia. However, the two incidents are unlikely to be related, given that Irkutsk, at about 4,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, is well out of range of any known long-range Ukrainian weapons.
Nonetheless, the Ukrainians have made several attempts at destroying the Tu-22M3 bomber. In April 2024, the Ukrainian government reportedly shot down a Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber belonging to the Russian Air Force using a Soviet-era S-200 air defense system. The attack took place about 300 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
In a separate incident, the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service (GUR) claimed in July 2024 that a Ukrainian drone hit the Tu-33M3 bomber at Olenya Airfield on the Kola Peninsula. Similar claims were made in August 2023, stating that the Tu-22M3 Backfire swing-wing bomber based at Soltsy-2 was struck by a Ukrainian drone.
While the latest claim made by the AFU chief has not been confirmed by the Russian authorities at the time of writing this report, if true, it would be another big loss for the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) as the Tu-22M3 bomber is regularly tasked with firing lethal Kh-22 and Kh-32 cruise missiles on Ukrainian cities.
Along with the Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, the Tu-22M3 is the mainstay of Russia’s long-range aviation. Given that Ukrainian airspace is saturated, long-range cruise missiles fired from the safety of Russian airspace are Moscow’s best bet to keep the Ukrainian military on edge.
Almost 56 years old now, the Tu-22M3 continues to be a very strategic asset in the Russian inventory and has received several upgrades to keep it as lethal as ever.
The Formidable Tu-22M3 Bomber
Designed by Soviet Naval Aviation for long-range marine anti-shipping purposes, it is a long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber designed to fly at supersonic speeds with variable-sweep wings.
It is said to have entered service in 1972, during the height of the Cold War. The production which came in many variants, run ended in 1993, right after the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
In 1972, the first significant production variant, Tu-22M2, was launched. It had a new undercarriage, twin NK-22 engines (215 kN thrust each), longer wings, and a completely redesigned area-ruled fuselage, increasing the crew to four.
The Tu-22M2 could reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.65 and was equipped primarily with anti-ship missiles, usually one or two Raduga Kh-22 anti-ship missiles, and long-range cruise missiles. After receiving more potent NK-23 engines, several Tu-22M2s were eventually renamed Tu-22M2Ye.
However, Russia did not stop there and upgraded the aircraft further.
The Tu-22M3 (claimed to have been destroyed by Ukraine recently) first flew in 1977, was introduced into operation in 1983, and officially entered service in 1989.
The Tu-22M3M has reportedly been furnished with artificial intelligence and new avionics, as per a TASS report. “The capabilities of this aircraft are impressive and considerably surpass all similar foreign rivals. This plane has artificial intelligence,” Russia’s Long-Range Aviation Commander Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash was quoted as saying in 2018.
The aerodynamic changes to the aircraft ostensibly increased its top speed to Mach 2.05 and its range by one-third compared to the Tu-22M2.
The Tu-22M3 can carry a variety of weaponry, such as cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and bombs, and has a range of nearly 6,800 kilometers (4,200 miles).
Russia primarily developed the combination of the Tu-22M3 and Kh-22 missiles to attack US aircraft carriers from a range of 1000 kilometers, staying outside the defensive envelope of a carrier group.
Over the years, this aircraft has undergone several upgrades to increase its lethality. The latest Tu-22M3 is fitted with a new sighting and powerful computing system, SVP-24-22 Gefest, replacing the NK-45 Vakhta-2 complex. Around 10 modernized aircraft are in service, and all the approximately 57 Tu-22M3s currently in service are being upgraded.
