Combat aircraft

RUSSIA’S

RESURGENT BOMBERS

R

USSIAN LONGRANGE

AVIATION has  rmly re-

established itself in the

news headlines. Whether

hitting targets inside Syria

or causing NATO  ghters to

scramble, the resurgent might of the

Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) has

caught the attention of the military

aerospace world.

The appearance of Tu-22M3 ‘Back res’

and Tu-160 ‘Blackjacks’ over Syria

o ered contrasting views of advances

in the Russian bomber force. Notably,

the ‘Back res’ were dropping sticks of

unguided ‘dumb’ bombs on so-called

Islamic State forces. While this would

appear to be a crude approach by

modern standards, the Russian military

is able to employ such tactics without

the fear of a domestic media backlash

regarding collateral damage. The

‘Back res’, and tactical strike aircraft,

tended to be used in this way around

the fringes of the enemy forces in Syria,

picking o combatants with heavy

bombardment rather than precision

strikes. Russia has been able to achieve

its military objectives without the use

of targeting pods and very expensive

smart weapons — these have simply

not been a part of its doctrine.

Of the bombers, ‘Blackjacks’ and

‘Bears’ have used precision weapons,

but analysts say these accounted for

just 10 per cent of Russia’s munitions

count in Syria. These aircraft were

designed and  elded as purely nuclear

bombers, and have had to scrabble

around for conventional options. The

‘Back re’ is the notable exception in

being able to drop dumb bombs.

An increase in the numbers of

conventional smart weapons available

to Long-Range Aviation is making

progress, and more cruise missile

options are coming to the fore. Indeed,

of the two Tu-160s intercepted by

the Royal Air Force and Belgian Air

Component as they  ew over the North

Sea on January 15, one was Tu-160 RF-

94102 Vasiliy Reshetnikov (named after a

WW2 bomber pilot). In 2015 this aircraft

was reportedly undergoing repair and

upgrade to Tu-160M1 standard at the

Kazan Aviation Plant. The  rst upgraded

Tu-160M2 was rolled out there in

November last year, signaling that as

well as an increased operational focus,

new, more advanced capabilities are

slowly coming online.

To keep track of the latest breaking

news and analysis in the world of

military air power you can visit our social

media sites and our website,

http://www.combataircraft.net.

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Jamie Hunter,

Editor

E-mail: [email protected]

RUSSIA’S

http://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 05

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