Currently, the enemy has up to about 30 units of the corresponding aircraft.
The loss of every Tu-22M3 bomber for the Russian Federation is very painful. Currently, the enemy has up to about 30 units of the corresponding aircraft.
This was reported by Defense Express.
Russia does not produce Tu-22M aircraft in any version. For example, the last Tu-22M3 was released in 1993. In particular, the only reserve used by the enemy is about six gliders that have been in the sky for 30 years. However, the Russian Federation may try to restore aircraft that have already been decommissioned and are in storage.
Currently, the most important problem for the Russians is that the NK-25 engines for the Tu-22M3 were last produced in 1996.
the Russians planned to use the NK-32 from the Tu-160 for the Tu-22M3M, but these engines are primarily needed for modernization and possibly attempts to resume production of the Tu-160M. At the same time, the modernization deadlines have already been missed, and currently only two bombers are known, one of which was ready at the level of 2018.
According to the Military Balance estimate, we are talking about about 57 units “on paper” as of mid-2023. Aircraft are operated:
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200th;
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52nd heavy;
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40th mixed aviation regiments.
“In addition, it is extremely important that in the Russian Federation they wanted to send only up to 30 aircraft for modernization to the level of Tu-22M3M. And this figure can be considered a reference. And from it it is possible to subtract at least two lost machines, as well as a part of damaged ones. But in reality it is much more, because not all Russian Tu-22M3s are in combat and flight condition”– adds the publication.
The Tu-22M3 is a Soviet long-range bomber developed in the 1970s and put into service in 1980. Equipped with three NK-25 engines, the aircraft is capable of reaching speeds of over Mach 2 and has a flight range of up to 7,500 km. The Tu-22M3 is designed for strategic strikes, including the use of nuclear weapons, and can carry up to 24,000 kg of bomb load.
However, since the late 1990s, Russia has not produced new Tu-22M3s. As mentioned above, restoration problems are compounded by the lack of spare parts and engines.
