Operation Spiderweb indicates Kyiv is well-equipped with the lethal UAVs required to launch surprise attacks across the border.
While May was a rough month for Kyiv considering Moscow’s large-scale barrages and offensive operations targeting the sovereign nation, Ukraine’s recent coordinated drone strike certainly turned the tables at least for the day. On June 1, Kyiv launched an unprecedented attack deep inside Russian territory, targeting four strategic air bases. While Ukrainian forces have attempted to take out Russia’s fleet of strategic bombers in the past, the country’s use of 117 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in “Operation Spiderweb” was certainly new. Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said that “at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed,” however, this number has not been verified. Among the alleged aircraft destroyed were iterations of the Tu-22M3 Backfire-C supersonic bomber, Tu-95MS Bear-H long-range turboprop bomber, and potentially a Tu-160 Blackjack bomber.
The Tu-22M3
Designated by NATO as the “Backfire,” Russia’s Tu-22M supersonic, long-range strategic and maritime bomber first entered service with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The bomber was meant to operate in a missile carrier strategic bombing role, however, many shortcomings surrounding the bomber’s features and capabilities would render this aircraft mediocre at best. The M3 version of the Backfire was introduced in the 1980s and was designed to rectify some of these design flaws. Ordnance-wise, this bomber can pack a variety of weaponry, including the new Kh-32 missile. Additionally, the bomber is equipped with the subsonic Kh-SD or the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles. Since Moscow commenced its Ukraine invasion, the Backfire has been deployed to the front lines to launch barrages targeting critical infrastructure and civilian residences alike.
The Tu-95MS
The Tu-95 “Bear Bomber” was conceptualized by the former USSR as a near-peer to American-made strategic bombers. Powered by four Kuznetsov turboprop engines equipped with two contra-rotating four-blade propellers initially, the Tu-95 was more fuel efficient than its counterparts, which ran with early jet engines. The turboprop engines enabled the aircraft to fly over 13,000 km, a huge feat considering this range would make the Bear Bomber an effective threat if used against the United States. Today, the Tu-95K variant is capable of launching the Kh-20 nuclear cruise missile. The Tu-95MS variant currently serves as the cornerstone of Russia’s bomber fleet.
The Tu-160
Russia’s “Blackjack” bomber is also a Cold War-era project. This supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable platform was designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1970s. Equipped with superior capabilities than previous Soviet-made bombers, the Tu-160 is often compared with the American-made B-1B bomber. According to Airforce Technology, the bomber can strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional weapons in continental theatres of operation. Notably, the Blackjack is the largest and heaviest bomber capable of flying at sustained speeds of Mach 2.0 (times the speed of sound).
While the exact number of Russian bombers impacted by Ukraine’s recent strike remains unknown, Operation Spiderweb indicates Kyiv is well equipped with the lethal UAV arms load required to launch surprise attacks across the border.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
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