Key Points – Russia’s Tu-22M3 “Backfire,” a supersonic, variable-sweep wing strategic bomber, has been a key platform for launching cruise missiles (like the Kh-22/Kh-32) against Ukraine.

Recently, the Tu-22M3 bomber has been the face of the Russian air force all over the world. ... the U.S. delegation wanted the Tu-22M not to be equipped with an air refueling system of any kind.

Recently, the Tu-22M3 bomber has been the face of the Russian air force all over the world. ... the U.S. delegation wanted the Tu-22M not to be equipped with an air refueling system of any kind.

January 16, 2020: A Russian program to refurbish and modernize its Cold War era Tu (Tupelov)-22 "Backfire" heavy bombers is running into more problems. The Russian Air Force wanted to design a new ...

February 1, 2019: At the end of 2018 the latest, and apparently last, version of the Russian Tu (Tupelov)-22 "Backfire" bomber made its first flight. The Tu-22M3M is a major upgrade of the existing Tu ...

At least one drone careened into a Tu-22M3 in the process of refueling and rearming. The resulting blasts caused a cloud of smoke seen rising over the airbase. View full post on X.

The Tu-95 "Bear" is that ugly, four-engine plane with contra-rotating propellers and the long refueling probe above the cockpit. Since 2007, Putin has used the Bear to harass U.S. and NATO airspace.

The Tupolev Tu-22M3 is a supersonic long-range bomber which entered service in Russia during the 1980s. The aircraft is capable of performing nuclear strikes as well as conventional attacks and ...

The Tu-22M3’s own standard land-attack missile, the Kh-22/32, ranges farther than 500 miles. An S-200 battery would need to be well forward of a Tu-22M3’s target city—as in, ...

That said, a rare Ukrainian S-200 heavy surface-to-air missile may have hit an airborne Tu-22M3 over southern Russia in April. No, the Ukrainians usually target the 139-foot, swing-wing bombers ...