Russia's strategic nuclear forces today consist of the so-called nuclear triad, which includes Strategic Missile Forces with their intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), both silo and mobile, strategic naval forces in the Navy with nuclear submarines, ICBM carriers sea-based, and strategic aviation as part of the Russian Air Force. As of September 1, 2018, based on an official statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the strategic nuclear forces of the Russian Federation have 517 deployed strategic nuclear weapons equipped with 1,420 nuclear warheads. The total number of deployed and non-deployed carriers of nuclear weapons is 775 units.
It is worth noting that, according to the START III treaty, each deployed strategic bomber is counted as a carrier with one nuclear charge. At the same time, the number of cruise missiles with nuclear warheads and nuclear bombs that can be carried by deployed strategic bombers is not taken into account. In our country, all strategic bombers are part of the Long-Range Aviation - a Russian Air Force formation subordinate to the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces. It can be noted that Long-Range Aviation has unique properties, being part of the country's strategic nuclear forces; unlike the Strategic Missile Forces or strategic missile submarines in the Navy, it can be used quite effectively in conventional military conflicts. This feature is explained quite simply, strategic bombers can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons on board. Today, the long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force is armed with strategic bombers Tu-160 (10 Tu-160 + 6 Tu-160M) and Tu-95MS (46 Tu-95MS and 14 Tu-95MSM), as well as long-range missile-carrying bombers Tu-22M3 (61 + 1 Tu-22M3M). Hereinafter, up to the section "Combat strength of Russian Long-Range Aviation", data on the number of aircraft are given from the annual reference book The Military Balance 2018, prepared by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Russian strategic aviation and competitors
Modern strategic bombers are very expensive and difficult to manufacture and operate combat systems. Only the “big three” states possessing nuclear weapons have such aircraft in service. Apart from Russia, only the US and China Air Forces have their own strategic bombers. At the same time, the only Chinese strategic bomber Xian H-6 was originally a copy of the currently heavily outdated Soviet Tu-16 heavy jet bomber. The latest modifications of this Xian H-6K aircraft have undergone a serious modernization process since then, but they are still difficult to attribute to modern combat vehicles.
In total, the PLA Air Force has about 150 long-range bombers Xian H-6K (about 90) and Xian H-6H / M (about 60), which are carriers of strategic cruise missiles. The most modern modification of the aircraft at the moment is the Xian H-6K bomber. This model made its first flight on January 5, 2007 and was officially adopted in 2011. The aircraft is distinguished by the presence of new Russian-made D-30KP-2 turbofan engines with a thrust of about 118 kN each, a modernized cockpit and enlarged air intakes; the aircraft also abandoned defensive armament in the form of a 23-mm automatic cannon. The combat load increased to 12,000 kg (on the first Xian H-6 models it was up to 9,000 kg). The combat range was increased from 1800 to 3000 km. The Chinese strategic bomber Xian H-6K is capable of carrying up to 6 CJ-10A cruise missiles, which are copies of the Soviet X-55 missile.
Xian H-6K
China is currently working on an analogue of the Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. At the same time, the arsenal of the Chinese "strategists" also contains conventional weapons, for example, fairly effective anti-ship missiles, which can pose a threat primarily to US aircraft carrier groups. At the same time, in the fall of 2018, the Chinese media reported that a new generation strategic bomber was being developed in China, which would become an analogue of the American B-2 strategic bomber. It is known that a new stealthy strategic bomber Xian H-20 is being developed by the Xi'an Aviation Industry Corporation. The car is due to be unveiled to the public in November 2019 at an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the PRC Air Force. According to the available data, the Xian H-20, like the American B-2, is made according to the "flying wing" scheme. The characteristics of the novelty are kept secret. It is assumed that the aircraft may be in service with the PLA Air Force by 2025, gradually replacing the outdated Xian H-6. Given the success of China in creating a fifth generation fighter and the general level of economic and industrial development, there is no reason to doubt the reality of the announced plans. Most likely, the Chinese novelty will appear earlier than the Russian analogue - PAK DA.
When making combat missions to the maximum (intercontinental) flight range (several thousand kilometers), strategic bombers, precisely because of their range, become vulnerable to attacks by enemy fighters. Also, the long range presents difficulties with the organization of fighter cover with its own aviation. At the same time, these huge aircraft are also vulnerable against modern air defense systems, and fighter cover will not be able to protect them from anti-aircraft missiles. There can be three ways out of the situation. All three are available only in the USA. For example, the low-speed and huge B-52 strategic bomber, the youngest of which will soon turn 60, carries air-launched cruise missiles that can be used before entering the enemy's air defense zone (Russian "strategists" can also be used) … The American B-1 strategic bomber has a combination of stealth and the ability to perform long flights at low altitudes, while the B-2 strategic stealth bomber is difficult to detect even with modern radars. This bomber is able to reach the target at high altitude. Both the B-1 and B-2 bomber must deliver short-range missiles and bombs as close to the target as possible.
The development of the B-2 concept should be the new American strategic bomber B-21 "Ryder"; in the future, it should replace all three previous types of American "strategists". Currently, the US Air Force is armed with 20 strategic bombers Northrop B-2A Spirit, 61 Rockwell B-1B Lancer and 70 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a total of 151 aircraft. It is planned to replace them with about a hundred B-21 bombers.
The Americans actively used and continue to use their strategic bombers in various local wars. The only military experience of using the Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 is the military operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria, China has never used its Xian H-6K strategic bombers in military conflicts. The experience of using "strategists" in local wars shows that their huge combat load allows such aircraft to be used as super-bombers capable of dropping tens of tons of bombs on enemy troops and ground targets in one sortie. One strategic bomber can replace up to 10 conventional front (tactical) aircraft. True, such a variant of their use can be realized only with the complete suppression of the enemy air defense, or in the complete absence of a full-fledged air defense system in the enemy.
Northrop B-2A Spirit
Russia currently does not have an "analogue" of the American B-2 bomber, it can only become the PAK DA project, if it is implemented in practice. At the same time, an analogue of the B-52 can easily be called our old-timer - Tu-95MS - a slow-moving huge aircraft capable of carrying from 6 to 16 air-launched cruise missiles (the flight range of such missiles, equipped with a nuclear warhead, reaches 3,500 kilometers). Another Russian strategic bomber, the Tu-160, resembles the American B-1 in appearance, it is also capable of flying at low altitudes and has low visibility. At the same time, the "American" has a low supersonic speed (Mach 1, 2), while the Tu-160 is able to fly at speeds up to Mach 2, 1. In addition, the B-1 is deprived of the ability to carry cruise missiles, and the Tu-160 can carry up to 12 X-55 missiles. At the same time, both Russian "strategists" are able to use non-nuclear cruise missiles Kh-555 and Kh-101, which have already been successfully used in Syria, as well as conventional aerial bombs (up to 40 tons for the Tu-160 and up to 21 tons for the Tu-95MS).
In addition to the classic strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-160, the long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force is armed with supersonic missile-carrying bombers Tu-22M3, which at the moment can be attributed to the world's only medium-range bombers. This aircraft can carry on board X-22 supersonic anti-ship missiles (ASM), designed to destroy large surface ships of the enemy, its main target is aircraft carriers, or up to 24 tons of conventional air bombs. The normal combat load of this aircraft is 12 tons, the combat radius of action at such a load is from 1,500 to 2,400 kilometers, depending on the profile and speed of the flight being performed. This allows the Tu-22M3, operating from Russian territory, to reach almost any point in Eurasia or North Africa.
Currently, Russia is implementing a program to upgrade the Tu-160 bomber to the Tu-160M2 version. Thanks to the updated engines, the aircraft will be able to increase its flight range by a thousand kilometers, which will increase its efficiency by about 10 percent. In addition, Tu-160M2 aircraft will receive new avionics, electronic warfare systems, control facilities, and new weapons control systems. As the American edition of The National Interest notes: “Unlike the American strategic bombers B-2 Spirit and even the promising B-21 Ryder, Russian“strategists”are designed to engage ground targets from inside a tightly closed airspace using winged long-range missiles”. American experts believe that Tu-160M2 bombers will receive a new generation of stealth cruise missiles, as previously mentioned by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov. According to him, these new missiles will surpass the existing X-55, X-555 and even X-101.
The combat strength of the Russian Long-Range Aviation
As the deputy director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin notes in the article "Air Strategists" in the Independent Military Review, today the strategic bombers of the Russian Long-Range Aviation are part of two heavy bomber aviation divisions. The 22nd division is stationed in the Saratov region in the city of Engels. It is armed with all 16 Tu-160 bombers in service, including 6-7 aircraft that have been upgraded to the Tu-160M version, as well as 14 Tu-95MS turboprop bombers, including 7-8 aircraft upgraded to versions of the Tu-95MSM. The second heavy bomber division - the 326th - is stationed in the Amur region in the village of Ukrainka. It is in service with 28-29 Tu-95MS bombers, including 1-2 modernized Tu-95MSM.
Tu-95MS next to B-52H "Stratofortress", Barksdale AFB, USA, May 1, 1992
Long-range bombers Tu-22M3 are part of two heavy bomber aviation regiments. The 52nd regiment is deployed in the Kaluga region at the Shaikovka airfield. It is armed with 17 Tu-22M3 aircraft, of which three are equipped with a specialized computer system SVP-24 "Hephaestus", which allows the use of conventional aerial bombs with an efficiency close to precision weapons. The 200th regiment is deployed in the Irkutsk region at the Belaya airfield, it includes from 17 to 24 Tu-22M3 bombers, including 1-2 vehicles with the SVP-24 "Hephaestus" system. In addition, the 40th mixed aviation regiment in the Murmansk region at the Olenya airfield has two more Tu-22M3 bombers.
Near Ryazan, at the Dyagilevo airfield, the 43rd center for combat use and retraining of flight personnel of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Air Force is deployed. The center is armed with up to 5-9 Tu-22M3 bombers (including 2-3 vehicles with "Hephaestus") and up to 7-8 Tu-95MS bombers. Three more long-range Tu-22M3 bombers are at the disposal of other training centers of the Russian Aerospace Forces, not related to Long-Range Aviation. Two or three Tu-160 strategic bombers are at the disposal of the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky near Moscow, but these aircraft are not considered combat units. Up to 150 Tu-22M3 aircraft are in storage.
The Long-Range Aviation includes two more aviation regiments. Including the 27th mixed regiment, which is stationed in Tambov. The regiment is armed with 20 Tu-134UBL training aircraft, as well as 8 transport vehicles. The 203rd Aviation Regiment, located in Diaghilevo, is armed with 18 Il-78 tanker aircraft, including 13 Il-78M. These are the only tanker aircraft that the Russian Aerospace Forces currently have. Such a small number of such aircraft is a vulnerable spot for the entire Russian military aviation. By comparison, the US Air Force currently has 458 tanker aircraft (another 175 in storage), and the naval aviation has 77 more tanker aircraft (38 in storage). All American tanker aircraft continuously serve and support flights of strategic, tactical, transport and carrier-based aircraft. At the same time, Russian refueling aircraft are able to seriously serve exclusively strategic aviation, while front-line aircraft have almost no chance of realizing their capabilities for refueling in the air. The reason is trivial - an insufficient number of Il-78s in the VKS, while there are no prospects for correcting the current situation in the foreseeable future. This problem is typical for the PLA Air Force, the Chinese aviation has a total of 13 Xian H-6U / DU tanker aircraft and three Il-78 aircraft.
Tu-160, 2014
Long-range aviation prospects
In the near future, it is planned to launch production of the Tu-160M2 strategic bomber in Russia. The machine, made in the airframe of the Tu-160 aircraft, will receive completely new on-board equipment and new weapons. The plans include the construction of 50 such strategic bombers, which should partially come to replace some of the machines in service. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already said that the emergence of a new version of the Tu-160 strategic bomber will be a major step towards strengthening the Russian nuclear triad.
Today we can say that the military conflict in Syria made it possible in practice to assess the capabilities of Russian Long-Range Aviation, as one of the instruments of the country's foreign and military policy. The development of Long-Range Aviation will undoubtedly continue, like the entire nuclear triad. It is planned that the main strategic bomber will be PAK DA - a promising long-range aviation complex, which has been under development in Russia since 2009. However, according to information from open sources, the aircraft, which in conceptual terms is the Russian answer to the B-2, even according to the most optimistic forecasts, will not appear in service until 2028.
The latter circumstance, apparently, is an explanation for the active work on the Tu-160M2 project and the emergence of plans to modernize the existing Tu-22M3 bomber fleet to the M3M version. According to American experts from The National Interest magazine, the option of upgrading the Tu-160 to the Tu-160M2 version is technically and economically more justified and more efficient than the abrupt transition to the PAK-DA stealth bomber under development. Experts of the publication note that Moscow will still not abandon the creation of the PAK-DA, but in the short and medium term, the capabilities of the modernized Tu-160M2 will be sufficient.
Tu-22M3 bombing terrorist targets in Syria
According to Alexander Khramchikhin, this approach of the Russian authorities temporarily improves the situation, but does not completely solve the problem itself. According to him, the experience of other types of the Russian Armed Forces shows that the modernization of old Soviet weapons in the country is much more successful than the creation of fundamentally new Russian combat systems. In ten years, this may become a very big problem that cannot be solved without the “reanimation” of the system of science and education in Russia, which are not given due attention.
