According to a report from the reference news network, on April 19, local time, a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed in the Stavropol Territory of southern Russia on its way back from a combat mission. Video footage shows that the bomber's engine caught fire and the plane lost power and fell in a spiral. The Russian side said that the cause of the crash of the Tu-22M3 was a technical malfunction. #MCN首发激励计划##突发! A Russian strategic bomber crashed#
However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the bomber was shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force anti-aircraft missile forces in cooperation with the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service, and before the crash, the plane fired cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine, and then was damaged by Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles and finally crashed in the Stavropol region.
If the Russian side's statement is true, it means that after more than two years of high-intensity combat flights, the bomber is already in very poor condition. However, this is also a normal situation, after all, in the past two years, other fighters of the Russian army have also crashed due to increased intensity of use, resulting in mechanical failure. And if what the Ukrainian side said is true, then this is the first time that the Ukrainian side has successfully shot down a Russian bomber after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Some people may question: The KH-22 cruise missile carried by the Tu-22M3 has a range of up to 600 kilometers, how can the carrier aircraft be hit by the Ukrainian air defense missile? This may be because the target that the Russian army wants to strike is located in the deep interior of Ukraine, and the Tu-22M3 has to be launched from the front, resulting in the range of the Ukrainian army's air defense missile.
The longest-range anti-aircraft missile of the Ukrainian army is the S200, with a maximum range of 250-300 km, that is, if the Tu-22M3 hits a target more than 300 km behind the Russian-Ukrainian exchange of fire, it is possible to be hit by the S200. Due to the huge reflection area of the Tu-22M3 radar, and in order to increase the range of the missile, it will be launched at high altitude, so it may have been detected by the Ukrainian army's early warning radar or NATO early warning aircraft over the Black Sea. The Tu-22M3 has extremely poor maneuverability, and it takes a long time to turn around and accelerate and escape after launching the missile, so even the S200 missile at the maximum range can be easily hit.
If the Tu-22M3 was really hit by the Ukrainian army, then the Russian army will have to be doubly careful when using it. On the one hand, when using it to launch the KH-22, the distance from the Russian-Ukrainian front line must be greater than 300 kilometers; on the other hand, if you use it to drop a 3-ton FAB3000 gliding guided bomb, you must ensure that there are no long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the area, after all, the maximum range of the Russian army's gliding guided bomb is only 70 kilometers. If it really doesn't work, the Russian army will have to throw FAB3000 with the Su-34.
Compared with the Tu-22M3, the Su-34 radar has a much smaller reflection area, is also more mobile and flexible, and has stronger battlefield survivability. However, this will increase the loss of the Su-34 fighter, after all, the weight of 3 tons has approached the maximum load of the belly pylon of the aircraft, and it is okay to hang it occasionally, and if you do it for a long time, it will definitely affect the life of the aircraft.
The Tu-22M3 is one of the three main bombers of the Russian army, with about 60 in active service, and more than 100 are mothballed as "organ donors" to maintain the normal operation of the existing fleet. In recent years, Russia plans to upgrade part of the Tu-22M3 to the Tu-22M3M, and the main improvements include replacing the engine, improving the avionics system, installing air refueling tubes, increasing the ability to mount KH-32 cruise missiles and "Dagger" missiles, and so on.
However, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has made the future of the Tu-22M3M project uncertain.
First, in this war, the Russian strategic bombers are mainly responsible for launching missiles at long distances, and this kind of task can be performed by the navy and the army, and the importance of strategic bombers has greatly decreased;
Second, the high-intensity use in the war has greatly reduced the remaining life of the Tu-22M3, which is doubtful whether it is worth continuing to upgrade for this old aircraft with an average age of more than 35 years;
Third, the Tu-22M3 can only launch the KH-22 cruise missile and the extremely upgraded model KH-32, but this missile is extremely depleted in the war, and once it is exhausted, the upgraded Tu-22M3M will face the embarrassing situation of "organic without bullets". Although the Tu-22M3M can also mount the "Dagger" hypersonic missile. However, at present, the "Dagger" is equipped by the MiG-31K to meet the needs, and in the future it will also be carried by the updated Su-34M, and the Tu-22M3M has no need to mount the "Dagger".
Therefore, taking into account the previous reasons, it is likely that the modernization and improvement project of the Tu-22M3 will be discontinued.
In the more than two years of Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Tu-22M3 has been damaged and destroyed by Ukrainian drones on the ground many times, and now it has lost another one in the air. Variable swept wing aircraft is already difficult to maintain, if Russia and Ukraine continue to fight for a few more years, the wear and tear of the Tu-22M3 will continue to accelerate, and it may be the end of the war that will be the farewell day of this old Soviet aircraft.