A Tu-95MS strategic bomber and missile carrier—one of the types of aircraft that Russia regularly uses to launch cruise missiles at Ukraine—crashed in the Amur Region of the Russian Federation. There were seven military personnel on board: six were killed, whilst one crew member survived and was hospitalised. There have been conflicting reports regarding the aircraft’s mission prior to the crash.
- A Tu-95MS has crashed in the Amur Region of the Russian Federation.
- There were seven crew members on board.
- Six soldiers were killed; one survived.
- Russia claims that the aircraft was on a training flight without any ammunition.
- Monitoring sources report a redeployment to «Olenya» and missiles on board.
A Tu-95MS crashed in the Amur Region
The crash took place on 29 September in the Russian Far East. The Russian Ministry of Defence has confirmed the loss of a Tu-95MS strategic bomber.
According to Moscow’s official account, the aircraft was on a training flight. There were seven military personnel on board.
Six crew members were killed. One soldier was injured but survived. A commission from the Russian Aerospace Forces has been sent to the crash site to establish the cause of the accident.
The information regarding the missiles on board contradicts the statement by the Russian Ministry of Defence
A separate question is what exactly the bomber was doing before the crash.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that the Tu-95 was on a training flight without ammunition.
At the same time, Ukrainian monitoring channels put forward a different version of events. According to their information, the aircraft was armed with cruise missiles and was being redeployed to the airfield «The Deer» in the Murmansk Oblast. There is currently no independent confirmation of this information. Therefore, at this stage, it cannot be stated as an established fact that the missiles were on board the aircraft at the time of the crash.
Why the loss of the Tu-95MS is significant for Russia’s strategic air force
Tu-95MS — a Soviet-designed strategic turboprop bomber and missile carrier. Russia uses such aircraft as a platform for long-range cruise missiles. It is the Tu-95MS that has repeatedly been deployed in large-scale missile attacks against Ukraine. In particular, these aircraft can deploy X-55 cruise missiles, whilst the modernised aircraft can deploy X-101s.
Production of the basic Tu-95MS model ceased back in the Soviet era, so Russia maintains its fleet of these aircraft through the repair and modernisation of existing aircraft. New Tu-95MS aircraft are not being produced in series from scratch.
This means that every irretrievable loss of such an aircraft reduces the Russian Federation’s existing fleet of strategic missile-carrying aircraft.
The «Ukrainka» airfield remains one of the Tu-95MS bases
The Amur Region is of particular importance to Russian long-range aviation. A military airfield is located here «Ukrainka», where a significant number of strategic bombers are based.
Monitoring data from recent months has regularly recorded dozens of Tu-95MS aircraft there. From there, the aircraft may be redeployed to more westerly Russian airfields, notably «Olenya», before carrying out their missions.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has not yet stated the cause of the current disaster. The investigation is ongoing.
