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Russia's strategic bombers
20 August 2007
Russia
has a fleet of 80 long-range aircraft capable
of carrying nuclear weapons, most of them from
the Soviet era. The 37th Strategic Air Army consists
of 64 Tupolev-95 Bear aircraft and 16 Tupolev-160
Blackjack planes.
However, defence publication Jane's
says Russia's strategic aerial capacity has "declined
significantly" since the mid-1990s, as the
emphasis has shifted towards conventional bombing
missions in low-intensity conflicts that can provide
better support for combat troops in asymmetrical
warfare:
- The Blackjack and the Bear can
each carry eight 200 kilotonne Kh-55 nuclear
missiles, which have a range of 3,000km (1,864
miles).
- The Bear, which first entered
service in 1955, is a four-engined turbo-prop
with a range of more than 10,000km.
- The Bear-H, which carries nuclear
weapons, made its first flight in September
1979. It is expected to remain operational until
2010 to 2015.
- The Tupolev 160 Blackjack is
the Russian equivalent of the US strategic bomber
the B-1B. It can travel up to 14,000km depending
on what weapons it is carrying. Its first flight
was in 1981.
- Russian strategic bombers are
based in Engels, near Saratov, south of Moscow,
and Ukrainka, near Svobodny, in Siberia.
- The country's strategic air force
also consists of about 60 Tu-22 Backfire bombers,
which have a nuclear capacity but are mostly
used on conventional missions.
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