Tu-22M3 strategic bomber crashes near Irkutsk, crew ejects

A Tu-22M3 strategic bomber crashed in the Irkutsk region of Russia, the Defense  Ministry said.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Max071086, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Tu-22M3 bomber

The crew ejected, but one of the pilots died. The aircraft crashed in an uninhabited area, causing no destruction or casualties on the ground.

Igor Kobzev, the Governor of the Irkutsk region, stated that the crash occurred near the village of Buret in the Bokhansky district, about 80 km from Irkutsk. The crew consisted of four members, he specified.

“The cause of the crash was a technical malfunction,” Kobzev said.

Details

The Tupolev Tu-22M (Russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated Tu-26 by Western intelligence at one time. During the Cold War, the Tu-22M was operated by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in a missile carrier strategic bombing role, and by the Soviet Naval Aviation (Aviatsiya Voyenno-Morskogo Flota, AVMF) in a long-range maritime anti-shipping role. In 2024, the Russian Air Force had 57 aircraft in service, according to the 2024 Military Balance report by International Institute for Strategic Studies. In 2023, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence estimated that Russia had 27 aircraft in operable condition.