Why aren't nuclear triad aircraft kept in hangars? Experts provide the answer.

Why are the aircraft of the nuclear triad not hidden in hangars? Experts give answers.

Author: Dmitri Lukashev

June 2, 2025, 21:05

Shalangin: The lack of shelters for strategic aviation is not negligence.

Russian military expert, reserve officer, and combat action veteran Oleksandr Shalangin commented on the recent large-scale attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian airports where nuclear triad aircraft were parked in the open. He emphasized that the issue does not lie in negligence but in the special nature of the deployment of strategic aviation.

The expert pointed out that according to the "Third Stage Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty" (START-3), provisions are made for monitoring and safeguarding ground-based strategic bombers.

"The 'Third Stage Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty' stipulates monitoring of ground aircraft with relevant clauses," the expert emphasized in his commentary for "Central Goler."

He noted that the construction of permanent shelters for nuclear triad aircraft is not common. This is because strategic aviation and transport aviation are in a state of continuous readiness and regularly undergo relocation. Long-term parking in hangars requires significant time to drag the aircraft out before each takeoff, which would reduce response speed.

"In general, strategic aviation is either on combat duty or in flight; transport aviation can also be considered to be in a state of continuous mobility. Therefore, building specialized hangars for parking and dragging out operations is fundamentally a waste of time in various scenarios, including emergencies," Shalangin pointed out.

Thus, in his view, the lack of permanent shelters is not an oversight but a carefully considered element of operational planning that avoids wasting time due to unnecessary procedures in potential threat situations.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511663859430736396/

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