Russia’s Tupolev Tu-95 aka ‘Bear’ is old, but deadly
Of late Russian Tu-95 long range bombers have been increasing their patrols and worryingly for Europe and the UK whom Russia seem only too happy to annoy have been getting closer and closer to crossing into UK Airspace. Only yesterday evening two RAF jets escorted one off the coast of Cornwall back to their own part of the world.
So what exactly is the Tupolev Tu-95 bomber also know by NATO as ‘Bear’. The Bear was first introduced during Soviet Union times and played a large part in Cold War tensions between America and Russia. First introduced around 1952 and was a modified and scaled up version of Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress. Initially the Bear was developed to drop free falling bombs and a modified one did just that in 1961 and dropped the largest ever nuclear weapon, the Tsar Bomba. Below you can see actual footage of a Tu-95 V dropping the Tsar Bomba and the results are alarming, so much so that no one has attempted a detonation of this size again.
There have been many variants of the Tu-95 Bear and it has been modified extensively over the years to deliver Cruise Missiles and has become a major symbol of Russian power.
Variants and derivatives
- Tu-95/1: The first prototype powered by Kuznetsov 2TV-2F coupled turboprop engines.
- Tu-95/2: The second prototype powered by Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops.
- Tu-95/Tu-95M: Basic variant of the long-range strategic bomber and the only model of the aircraft never fitted with a nose refuelling probe. Known to NATO as the Bear A.
- Tu-95K: Experimental version for air-dropping a MiG-19 SM-20 jet aircraft.
- Tu-95K22: Conversions of the older Bear bombers, reconfigured to carry the Raduga Kh-22 missile and incorporating modern avionics. Known to NATO as the Bear G.
- Tu-95K/Tu-95KD: Designed to carry the Raduga Kh-20 air-to-surface missile. The Tu-95KD aircraft were the first to be outfitted with nose probes. Known to NATO as the Bear B.
- Tu-95KM: Modified and upgraded versions of the Tu-95K, most notable for their enhanced reconnaissance systems. These were in turn converted into the Bear G configuration. Known to NATO as the Bear C.
- Tu-95M-55: Missile carrier.
- Tu-95MR: Bear A modified for photo-reconnaissance and produced for Naval Aviation. Known to NATO as the Bear E.
- Tu-95MS/Tu-95MS6/Tu-95MS16: Completely new cruise missile carrier platform based on the Tu-142 airframe. This variant became the launch platform of the Raduga Kh-55 cruise missile and put into serial production in 1981.[21]Known to NATO as the Bear H and was referred to by the U.S. military as a Tu-142 for some time in the 1980s before its true designation became known.
- Tu-95N: Experimental version for air-dropping an RS ramjet powered aircraft.
- Tu-95RTs: Razvedchik Tseleukazatel: Variant of the basic Bear A configuration, redesigned for maritime reconnaissance and targeting as well as electronic intelligence for service in the Soviet Naval Aviation. Known to NATO as the Bear D.
- Tu-95U Uchebnyy: Trainer: Training variant, modified from surviving Bear As but now all have been retired. Known to NATO as the Bear T.
- Tu-95V: Special carrier aircraft to test-drop the largest thermonuclear weapon ever designed, the Tsar Bomba.
- Tu-96: long-range intercontinental high-altitude strategic bomber prototype, a high-altitude version of the Tupolev Tu-95 aircraft with high-altitude augmented turboprop TV-16 engines and with a new, enlarged area wing. Plant tests of the aircraft were performed with non-high altitude TV-12 engines in 1955–1956.[22]
- Tu-114: Airliner derivative of Tu-95.
- Tu-116: Tu-95 fitted with passenger cabins as a stop-gap while the Tu-114 was being developed. Only two converted.[23]
- Tu-95LAL: Experimental nuclear-powered aircraft project.
- Tu-126: AEW&C derivative of Tu-114, itself derived from the Tu-95.
- Tu-142: Maritime reconnaissance/anti-submarine warfare derivative of Tu-95. Known to NATO as the Bear F.
The current increase in Russian ‘sabre rattling’ has many EU states worried and many former Soviet block members worried that they might do to them what they did to the Ukraine. Regardless of Russia’s outdated military hardware with regards to some of its arsenal such as the Tu-95 we should never underestimate their ability to sneak one close enough and drop something. So I think this will really happen, no, if it were to it would mean the end of Russia as it is as every major power would retaliate in force.
So this is Russia’s Tupolev Tu-95 aka Bear bomber, its old but still deadly. As a sobering reminder of how deadly nuclear weapons are, below is the blast radius of the Tsar Bomba if it was dropped on Manchester.
