October 29, 2007:
After years of requests from the
Russian Air Force, the Tu-95 is getting its electronics upgraded. This was last
done in the 1980s, when the current version of the Tu-95 was upgraded to be a
cruise missile launcher. The upgrade included defensive avionics (radar
detectors and jammers) along with chaff and flare dispensers, and sensors under
the nose and tail to detect approaching missiles.
The Tu-95MS is a propeller driven aircraft, most
often used for naval reconnaissance. As a heavy bomber, it is a 180 ton
aircraft that can carry 12 tons of bombs and missiles. It has a combat radius
of over 5,000 kilometers. Actually, it's total range of 15,000 kilometers
enables it to reach just about anywhere on the planet, if is uses in-flight
refueling.
Russia have 63 Tu-95MS "Bear" strategic
bombers in service. No details of the upgrades were released, except a mention
of "artificial intelligence" being used. This is a feature of all modern
electronic defensive systems. If the Russians develop and install first rate
stuff, it could cost them over $20 million per aircraft. This was the kind
money it cost to upgrade B-52 electronics in the last decade. A nickname for
the B-52 is BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F***er).