Reference News Network November 16 report, Germany's news television channel website November 12 published an article titled "Russia's bomber fleet still relies on the Tu-95 bomber," by Gernot Kranpel. The summary of the article is as follows:

American and Russian strategic air forces both focus on using old bombers. The United States uses the B-52 bomber, while Russia uses the Tu-95 strategic bomber (NATO designation "Bear"). Both aircraft were born in the same year: the Tu-95 made its first flight on November 12, 1952, only half a year earlier than the B-52.

Initially, both were developed for dropping atomic bombs, but later had different fates.

The B-52 was quickly modified for conventional operations, while the "Bear" remained in a "hibernation" state for a long time. It wasn't until the 1980s that the Tu-95 underwent a comprehensive modernization. Now, it has become a weapon for Russian bombing of Ukraine, but it no longer uses simple free-fall bombs, but advanced cruise missiles.

The Tu-95 is slightly smaller than the B-52, and its most distinctive feature is four Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines, each driving a pair of coaxial contra-rotating propellers. This design limits the plane's speed to about 925 km/h, but it is very fuel-efficient.

The "Bear" has a range of up to 15,000 kilometers and has the ability to cruise at low speeds, so it has a long loiter time. But the cost is that the large engines produce deafening noise. Its characteristic roaring sound can even be heard by submarines underwater.

The improved Tu-95MSM began development in 2009, with the first planes delivered in 2016. This bomber is expected to serve at least until 2040 — the United States even plans to keep the B-52 in service until 2050. However, the Tu-95 currently used by the Russian military was mainly manufactured in 1982 and 1993, not from the 1950s.

The improved NK-12MPM engines are more fuel-efficient, have a longer range, and double the aircraft's bomb capacity: up to eight Kh-101 or Kh-102 cruise missiles.

The Kh-101 missile allows Russia to attack targets throughout Ukraine from a safe distance, enabling bombers to operate far away from the border. Russian forces have previously launched dozens of Tu-95s at night.

It is said that Russia has also developed a new version of the Kh-101 cruise missile for the Ukraine conflict — shorter range, but twice the warhead weight, and even capable of launching decoys to evade enemy air defense systems. In addition to advanced weapons, the Tu-95 also uses older cruise missiles, such as the Kh-22 — which has lower accuracy, but sufficient inventory, and is close to the end of its service life. (Translated by Zhong Sirui)

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7573209460064256566/

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