A Russian air force tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber crashed at olenegorsk
air base, in russia's northwestern region
of murmansk, killing three crew members, one survived. It was not immediately clear what caused
the aircraft to crash.
According to
russian law enforcement officials cited
by tas news agency, bad weather
conditions in combination with a pilot
error are likely to blame.
The russian Ministry Of Defense (MOD) said
in a public statement that the Tu-22M3M mission was carried out without weapons. The Tu-22M3 was reportedly returning after
completing a training or other flight
with another Tu-22M3 over the arctic region.
according to law enforcement officials
the russian air force's fleet of 222 m3
will remain grounded pending the results
of an official inquiry into the causes
of the accident. the incident constitutes the second
accident involving russian military
aircraft this month.
A pair of Su-34 fighter bombers crashed
into the sea of japan after reportedly
colliding with each other off the coast
in Russia's far east. Rhe aircraft were unarmed and flying in
close formation, one of the four crew
members aboard the two aircraft was
recovered alive.
The Tu-22M3M is a derivative of the Tu-22
supersonic variable sweep wing fighter
bomber first introduced into service
with the soviet air force and soviet
naval aviation in the 1970s. There are currently around 62 M3s in
service with russian military aviation, although the serviceability rate of the
fleet is thought to be under 50 percent.
About half of the Tu-22M3 are expected to
be upgraded to the more advanced 220 Tu-M3M variant. in comparison to its immediate
predecessor the Tu-22M3, the modernized Tu-22M3M will feature
upgraded avionics, new digital radio
navigation equipment and a new
communication suite, next to a number of
other improvements, i explained
previously.
Notably unlike the upgraded 2
160M2 long range strategic bomber, the Tu-22M3M will not be fitted with a new
engine. The maiden flight of the first
upgraded Tu-22M3M took place on december 28th.
As i explained the Tu-22M3M will be capable of firing Kh-32
long-range cruise missiles. The Kh-32 an
upgraded version of the reguta Kh-22
long-range anti-ship missile has been
specifically designed to attack u.s navy
carrier strike groups.
