Strategic aviation of Russia. Combat composition of Russian aviation

The Greek word "strategy" expresses the notion ofmeaningful plan to achieve the main goal. In the military aspect, this means a directed sequence of actions with the aim of winning a victory in an armed conflict as a whole, without detailing and specifying individual stages. To accomplish this task, the modern armed forces of some countries have special means. These include special reserves, missile forces, nuclear submarine fleet and strategic aviation. The Russian Air Force, in its composition, has two types of long-range bombers capable of delivering strikes against remote targets practically anywhere in the world.

A Brief History of Domestic Strategic Aviation

For the first time in the world strategic bombersappeared in the Russian Empire. The requirement for this class of airplanes consisted in the ability to deliver to the target a sufficiently large number of ammunition and inflict considerable damage on the economy and industry of a hostile country.

60 bombs of the "Ilya Muromets" type, which compriseda special air squadron, remaining invulnerable, represented a serious danger for the cities and plants of Austria-Hungary and Germany throughout the First World War, during which only one aircraft of this type was lost.

The Revolution and the Civil War Threw Backdevelopment of the aircraft industry. The school of aircraft construction was lost, the designer of the "Muromets" Sikorsky emigrated from the country, and the remaining copies of the world's first long-range bomber died ingloriously. The new authorities had other concerns, their plans did not include defense. The Bolsheviks dreamed of a world revolution.

Aircraft for Defense

Strategic aviation of Russia in its conceptionwas a defensive weapon, since the capture of the destroyed industrial base, as a rule, is not included in the plans of the aggressor. In the prewar years in the USSR, a unique bomber TB-7, superior to the best at that time model of this class B-17 "Flying Fortress" was created. It was on this plane that VM Molotov visited Britain in 1941, unhindered overcoming the airspace of fascist Germany. However, this miracle of technology was not performed serially.

After the war in the USSR was completely copiedAmerican B-29 (Tu-4), the need for this type of aircraft became urgent after the emergence of a nuclear threat, and time for developing its own design was not enough. However, with the advent of jet interceptors, this bomber became morally outdated. New solutions were needed, and they were found.

A rocket or an airplane?

Along with nuclear submarine missile carriers andintercontinental ballistic missiles, the task of countering global threats is also decided by strategic aviation. Nuclear weapons of Russia in the class of carriers are divided into these three components, forming a kind of triad. After the emergence of fairly sophisticated ICBMs in the 1950s, the Soviet leadership had some illusions about the universality of this delivery vehicle, but all the design work begun under Stalin was not stopped.

The main stimulus for continuing research inthe area of ​​construction of a heavy machine with a large radius of action was the adoption of the US Air Force in 1956, the B-52 bomber, which had subsonic speed and heavy combat load. Symmetrical response was Tu-95, a four-engine aircraft with a swept wing. As time showed, the decision to develop this project was correct.

Tu-95 against B-52

After the collapse of the USSR, the strategic carriernuclear weapons Tu-95 entered the combat composition of Russian aviation. Despite the venerable age, this machine continues to serve as a missile carrier. A large, powerful and robust design allows using it as an air-launched launcher, as well as a trans-oceanic analog B-52. Both aircraft entered service almost simultaneously and have approximately the same technical characteristics. Both the Tu-95 and the B-52 at one time cost a lot to the states, however they were designed and made conscientious, that's why they differ in a very long running resource. The voluminous bomb compartments contain cruise missiles (X-55), which can start from the side, which creates the conditions for a nuclear strike without crossing the border of the attacked country.

After modernization of Tu-95MS and dismantlingdropping mechanisms for free-falling ammunition in fact the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation received a new strategic aircraft equipped with modern navigation equipment and guidance systems.

Air-launched missile bases

In addition to the United States, only the RussianThe Federation has a fleet of long-range bombers. After 1991, he was practically inactive, the state did not have enough funds to maintain technical readiness and even fuel. Only in 2007 Russia resumed flights of strategic aviation over the most diverse regions of the world, including along the American coasts. The Tu-95 missile carries out non-stop in the air for almost two days, refueling and returning to the air base, demonstrating the possibility in the event of a nuclear conflict to contribute to the impact of global retaliation. But not only these machines can perform the task of deterrence. There is also supersonic strategic aviation in Russia.

Do not shoot "white swans", it's useless

Adoption of the US Air Force widelyannounced in the seventies of the strategic supersonic bomber B-1 could not remain unnoticed by the Soviet leadership. In the early eighties the Soviet air fleet was replenished with a new aircraft, Tu-160. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia's strategic aviation inherited most of them, except for ten scraps cut in Ukraine and one "White Swan", which became an exhibit of the museum in Poltava. In terms of its technical and flight characteristics, this bomber-rocket-carrying bomber is a new generation, it has a variable wing sweep, four jet engines, a stratospheric ceiling (21,000 meters) and a much higher combat load (45 tons against 11 ). The main advantage of the "White Swan" is supersonic speed (up to 2200 km / h). The radius of combat use makes it possible to reach the American continent. Interception of aircraft with such parameters to specialists seems problematic.

Conditionally strategic Tu-22

The structure of strategic aviation in the USSR and Russiahas much in common. The aircraft fleet is inherited, it can serve for a long time, but basically consists of two types of cars - Tu-95 and Tu-160. But there is another bomber that does not fully comply with the strategic task, although it can make a decisive contribution to the outcome of the global conflict. The Tu-22M is not considered heavy and belongs to the medium class, it develops supersonic speed and can carry a large number of cruise missiles. This aircraft does not have a long range for intercontinental bombers, therefore it is considered conditionally strategic. It is designed to strike at the bases and bridgeheads of a possible adversary located in Asia and Europe.

Will there be new strategic bombers?

Strategic aviation of Russia at presentconsists of dozens of cars of three main types (Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22). All of them are no longer new, they spent considerable time in the air and, probably, someone might think that these machines need replacing. Journalists, far from military issues, sometimes call the "Bear" Tu-95 a relic machine. It is necessary, however, to consider any phenomenon in comparison. The Americans do not send their B-52s for scrapping, they are sometimes flown by the grandchildren of the first pilots who mastered them, however, nobody calls these airy giants junk. As far as we know, they are not planning new types of strategic bombers, considering them, perhaps, a rapidly aging moral class of technology. Most likely, the Russian side will not be the initiator of a new round of the arms race.