Footage showed the moment an ammunition store inside Russia was hit by a Ukrainian strike in the latest attack within Vladimir Putin’s territory, in yet another embarrassing moment for the Kremlin.
Faktisk reported that satellite image from December showed the Tu-160 bombers ready to take off on the runway. Placing the bombers at the site is unusual because they are typically located at Engels Air Base, about 600 km south-east of Moscow.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has increased the number of his strategic nuclear bombers stationed at an airbase near the Finnish and Norwegian borders, satellite images show.
The move comes amid high tension over whether Putin plans to launch an atomic attack in Europe and his on-going invasion of Ukraine, which has suffered a string of embarrassing setbacks in recent months.
On December 26, Russia announced it had averted another drone attack on Engels-2 Air Base by shooting down a hostile drone. However, three servicemen at the site were killed by the wreckage of the massive drone.
Almost a month since the first attack, the number of bombers at Engels has been reduced from 26 to just 11, according to a satellite image assessment of The War Zone. The detailed evaluation read, “While five Tu-95 Bears are visibly de-iced and parked on cleared aprons and taxiways, four others remain covered in snow.”
This was highlighted by Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International which detected the ‘irregular presence’ of TU-160s and TU-95s.
The Armageddon planes are usually stationed at Engels Air Base, 600 km south-east of Moscow.
Now, however, the bombers are stationed around 200 km away from the border of NATO member Norway, and about 95 miles away from the soon-to-become Alliance member, Finland. They can also be used with conventional weapons.
There is evidence the deployment at Olanya has Kh-101 cruise missiles for possible use against targets in Ukraine. The Kh-101 can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
The runway at Olenya airbase was empty on 12 August, with satellite images from October 7 showing that it is now full of warplanes.
The Tu-160 – aka White Swan, but known in the West as Blackjack – is a supersonic strategic bomber that has been the workhorse of Russia’s strategic missile forces since Soviet times.
It is the largest Mach 2+ military aircraft ever built, and as of 2022 is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft still in use – while also being the fastest bomber.
The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic bomber designed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
It is the largest Mach 2+ military aircraft ever built, and as of 2022 is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft still in use – while also being the fastest bomber.
The super-loud Tu-95, known as Bear, is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today. The aircraft first flew 70 years ago, but was only used in combat for the first time in 2015.
As of 2016, the Russian Air Force’s Long Range Aviation branch had 16 aircraft in service, with upgrades on the aircraft being undertaken in recent years.
The jet can carry 88,000lbs of weapons onboard, with each of its two internal bays capable of holding 44,000lbs, free-fall weapons, or a nuclear missile launcher.
In May 2020, it was reported that the Russian military was exploring whether the Tu-160 could carry a hypersonic missile. Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (also known as ‘dagger’), is a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,200 miles and a speed of up to Mach 10 (ten-times the speed of sound).
Meanwhile, the super-loud Tu-95, known as Bear, is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today.
The aircraft first flew 70 years ago, but was only used in combat for the first time in 2015. It was originally intended to drop free-falling nuclear weapons, but has since been modified to perform several other roles.
Putin has deployed the Tu-95s to buzz Britain at moments of high tension, for example in February this year when the Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon fighters to escort two Bears off northern Scotland.
News of Putin’s increasing numbers of nuclear-capable bombers came as footage showed the moment an ammunition store inside Russia was hit by a Ukrainian strike.
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