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The Russian air force grounded its entire fleet of Sukhoi-27 fighter jets on Thursday after a fatal crash near Moscow which aviation sources told Russian agencies looked like the result of some kind of technical failure. Viktor Bondarev, the head of the air force, ordered the country's fleet of the twin-engined fighter jet grounded until the reasons for the crash had been determined, Russian agencies reported. Russia is believed to have over 300 of the fighter jets in service. The United States complained in April that one of them had made aggressive manoeuvres near a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the...

When Osama bin Laden was banished from Sudan in 1996, he left the country in a rented Soviet jet — an aged and antique Tupolev flown by a Russian pilot he did not trust. With him were a few bodyguards, his military commander, Saif al-Adel, and two sons named Sa’ad and Omar — both young men in their late teens. Although it was the corrupt Islamic government of Sudan that had robbed Osama bin Laden of much of his vast personal wealth, he blamed America for his misfortunes, according to Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright. “He held America responsible for the...

IN FOCUS: Russian's next-generation bomber takes shape Confirmation came on the occasion of the Russian air force centennial celebrations in August. Addressing media, air force commander-in-chief Lt Gen Victor Bondarev revealed that development of a new strategic bomber, the PAK-DA, had commenced. Its name is a Russian acronym that approximates to "future aviation complex for long-range aviation", and the aircraft is intended to supplement and partially replace the Tupolev Tu-160s, Tu-95MSs and Tu-22M3s now forming the backbone of Russia's land-based strategic bomber fleet. Vladislav Perminov Touching on a recent meeting with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, during which long-term procurement issues...

The Russian Air Force has lifted a ban on the flights of Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers imposed after an An-22 Cock transport plane was destroyed in a crash last December. The plane crashed in the Tula Region on December 28, killing all 12 crew members. The Air Force decided to ground all Tu-95s and An-22s because both aircraft types share the Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop, whose failure was suspected as the main cause of the crash. The An-22 remains the largest turboprop-powered aircraft in the world. Around 45 remain in service with the Russian Air Force and most are over 40...

RAF fighter jets have been scrambled to intercept Russian nuclear bombers near British airspace twice in the last week, it emerged today. The alarm was raised after the huge Tupolev Tu95 'Bears' were spotted on Monday and Tuesday, flying in a Nato-policed zone close to the UK. Tornados from RAF Leuchars in Fife were despatched to identify and escort the bombers back to international air space. The incident is the the latest in a long line of cat-and-mouse engagements between RAF fighters and Russian aircraft, as the Kremlin seeks to test Western response times. Earlier this year, it emerged that...

A Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday that two Tu-95 MS long-range strategic bombers successfully test-fired cruise missiles during a 12-hour flight. During the tactical exercise on Friday, the missiles "accurately hit all the targets at the Pemboi testing site in the (Russian) republic of Komi," said Vladimir Drik as quoted by the Interfax news agency. A MiG-31 interceptor jet and a Beriev A-50 Shmel airborne early warning aircraft also participated in the exercise, he said. The two bombers landed at the Ukrainka airfield in Russia's fareastern Amur region. The Tu-95 strategic bomber, which made its debut in 1952, is a...

Two Russian Tu-160 heavy bombers recently completed a record 23 hour long, 18,000 kilometer flight around the periphery of Russia. This required two in-flight refuelings from Il-78 tankers. This feat was nothing new. Last year, a Tu-160 completed a 21 hour flight. Although designed as a heavy bomber, the Tu-160 has largely been used, in the last few years, as a long range reconnaissance aircraft. But even in that role, the Tu-160 can carry cruise missiles and other air-to-ground weapons. Two years ago, Russia received its first new Tu-160 heavy bomber since the early 1990s. Production had been revived four...

Moscow: Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers on Wednesday took off from their base in Engels in Volga region on a record 23-hour patrol during which they will cover a distance of 18,000 kilometres without touching the ground. "We are expecting this mission to set a record because its duration will exceed the previous achievement by two hours and it would be of total of 23 hours, and its range will reach 18,000 kilometres," Air Force spokesman Lt Col Vladimir Drik was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. A similar mission last year had lasted 21 hours. The Tu-160...

-- Russia is increasingly flexing its military muscles by penetrating Western airspace. European defense officials have been worried about an increasing number of Russian bombers entering Western airspace. A pair of Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers -- the largest jet-powered combat aircraft ever built, capable of carrying nuclear missiles -- last month entered British airspace over Northern Scotland, Deutsche Welle reports. Two Tornado fighter jets from the British air force intercepted the supersonic bombers, accompanying them for four hours until they left British airspace. Similar incidents have occurred in recent years; London has said Russian planes have penetrated British airspace more...

The airplane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski Saturday is deeply shocking — but, sadly, not a complete surprise. Poland has for years been calling the Soviet-era military aircraft used by Polish officials “flying coffins.” Poland’s former Prime Minister Leszek Miller once had to leave the government airplane at an airport in Germany after an engine caught on fire. He was later nearly killed in a helicopter crash — and still politicians were too afraid of the public reaction to buy new aircraft. The possibility of a government aircraft crashing and killing an important official was so strongly discussed...

In the most recent reported incident, two Tu160 Blackjack bombers, capable of travelling at 2,220kmph and carrying up to almost 40,000kg of ordnance including either cruise or short-range nuclear missiles, infiltrated British airspace over Northern Scotland on March 10. In this case, the Tu160s were intercepted by two RAF Tornado F3 fighters and, after a four hour stand-off, the Russian long-range bombers eventually left the borders of UK airspace and the RAF planes returned to base. The incident over Stornaway was far from an isolated case. Defense analysts have been recording a steady increase in airspace violations by Russian military...

19:1624/03/2010 Two Russian Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers have carried out a 15-hour routine patrol mission over the Pacific, including near the U.S. Aleutian Islands, an Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday. "The Tu-95MS bombers left the Ukrainka air base [in the Amur region in Russia's Far East] on March 24 and successfully completed the air patrol mission," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said. "The flight took place in the region of the Aleutian Islands," he added. The strategic bombers practiced various types of flight drills, including in-flight refueling, he also said. Earlier this month, the commander of U.S. Northern Command and...

The number of strategic bombers performing routine patrols could be doubled if the Russian General Staff makes such a decision, the commander of Russia's strategic aviation said Tuesday. Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans, the Black Sea and along the borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in August 2007, following an order from then-president Vladimir Putin. "As a rule, up to four strategic bombers perform patrol flights simultaneously. However, under specific circumstances and on orders from the General Staff, their number could be increased to up to eight aircraft," Maj. Gen. Anatoly...

A Russian Tu-142M3 reconnaissance aircraft recently crashed twenty kilometers off the Pacific coast, during a training mission. The Tu-142 is an unarmed maritime patrol aircraft that, in the last few years, have resumed long range patrols. Such activity had been halted in the early 1990s. The Tu-142, which was introduced in the 1970s, is the patrol version of the Tu-95 heavy bomber. This aircraft entered service 51 years ago, and is expected to remain in service, along with the Tu-142 variant, for another three decades. But these elderly aircraft are increasingly expensive to maintain, and prone to developing unexpected problems....

A Russian military plane crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia's Far East region, leaving all 11 crew members missing and presumed dead, officials said on Saturday. The Tupolev Tu-142 plane disappeared from radar as it was coming to the end of a training mission on Friday over the Tatarski Strait that divides Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin from the mainland, the defence ministry said. "Given the conditions under which the catastrophe took place, we can presume that all the crew aboard the Tu-142 were killed," a source in the emergencies ministry told the RIA Novosti...

Italian newspaper says plane crash north of Tehran which left 168 people dead was caused by explosion of fuses slated to be delivered to Lebanese organization. According to report, members of Revolutionary Guards among casualties 08.02.09 / Israel News An Iranian plane crash two weeks ago – which left 168 people dead – was caused by the explosion of sophisticated fuses slated to be delivered to Hezbollah, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Saturday, quoting sources in the Middle East. According to the report, the pilot of the Tupolev plane, which was making its way from Tehran to Armenia, sent...

Excerpt - MOSCOW. Sept 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers have patrolled the eastern coast of South America, aide to Russian Air Force commander Col. Lieut. Vladimir Drik told Interfax-AVN. "The aircraft took off from the Libertador military airfield in Venezuela at 4.30 p.m. Moscow time [on September 15]. They flew over neutral waters along the eastern coast of South America in the direction of Brazil. They landed at an airfield in Venezuela at 10 p.m.," Drik said. The Alexander Molodchy and Vasily Senko bombers were in air for about six hours. The crewmembers practiced synchronization and...

Russia’s Strategic Aviation to Conduct Major Exercises Strategic bombers of Russian Air Forces are to conduct major exercises with launching cruise missiles and mid-air refueling, RIA News agency says with reference to Alexander Drobyshevsky, spokesman of Russian Air Forces. Aviation is to try new crews during the exercises. “Over 50 percent of the participants are young pilots,” said Drobyshevsky. Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers will shoot cruise missiles at northern firing grounds, and Tu-22M3 are to practice bomb-release. Some of the tasks, including mid-air refueling, are to be carried out at night. Exercises of the 37th air army of Russian Air...

BEIJING, September 23 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Yefimov) -- Russia has invited China to help develop and manufacture a new passenger plane, aimed to compete with Boeing and Airbus, senior officials from the country's leading aircraft makers said Friday. Vladimir Belyakov, deputy general director of Ilyushin, said the firm, together with two other top Russian producers, Yakovlev and Tupolev, was working on the low-cost, fuel efficient MS-21 passenger plane. The MS-21 project was presented at the Beijing Aviation Expo 2005. "We would like to make it an international project and develop the plane with the help of other companies, including foreign...

On September 13, 1997, a U.S. Air Force C-141 collided with a German Tupolev-154 over the South Atlantic, several hundred miles off the coast of Angola, killing all 33 on board both planes. The C-141 was on its way to Ascension Island for refueling before heading back to Maguire air base in New Jersey. Apparently (if my Italian skills are right; I'm getting this from an Italian newspaper), it had just dropped off mine-removal equipment to Namibia, where mines had been scattered over the countryside in its war of independence from South Africa. The Luftwaffe plane was carrying a group...