Friday, October 24, 2008

Old Russian Bears Still A Threat

Old Russian TU-95 "Bear" bombers, that is.

Not because of bombs, but because each of these planes can carry very dangerous cruise missiles that can hit the US while the TU-95 bomber is out of range of interception by fighter jets.

The TU-95 Bear D's used to fly regularly from their bases in the old Soviet Union to Cuba during my Navy days, and they appear to be doing so again under Tsar Vlad Putin. I was on a ship one time that was overflown by them.

Here's what they look like:



Very distinctive contra-rotating propellers instead of jet engines. Old-fashioned, but very efficient, they could fly all the way from northern Russia to Cuba without refueling.

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