Tu-95MS Bear

Russia’s swept-wing intercontinental turboprop bomber — a 1950s-design platform that survived the Cold War to become the primary launch-vehicle for Kh-101/Kh-102 cruise missiles, and now an irreplaceable asset eroded by Ukrainian long-range strikes.

Overview

The Tupolev Tu-95MS (NATO reporting name Bear-H) is the only turboprop-powered strategic bomber ever produced in large numbers and the sole remaining turboprop combat aircraft in operational service. Its four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines — still the most powerful turboprops fielded — drive contra-rotating propellers that give the aircraft intercontinental range, a cruise speed of about 710 km/h and a maximum speed of 925 km/h. Designed to carry the Soviet Union’s first nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, the Tu-95MS today is the workhorse of Russia’s long-range aviation command, standing off from deep within Russian territory to release Kh-101 conventional and Kh-102 nuclear cruise missiles against targets in Ukraine and, earlier, in Syria.

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