Strategic bomber Tu-95MC, the Bear

Strategic bomber aircraft Tu-95MC struck cruise missiles on terrorists' positions in Syria. All photos by Vadim Savitsky

The aircraft has four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines with contra-rotating propellers. It is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today.

All photos by Vadim Savitsky

The Tu-95 is one of the loudest military aircraft, particularly because the tips of the propeller blades move faster than the speed of sound. All photos by Vadim Savitsky

Its distinctive swept-back wings are at a 35° angle. The Tu-95 is one of very few mass-produced propeller-driven aircraft with swept wings . All photos by Vadim Savitsky

All Tu-95s now in Russian service are the Tu-95MS variant, built in the 1980s and 1990s. On 18 August 2007, President Vladimir Putin announced that Tu-95 patrols would resume, 15 years after they had ended . All photos by Vadim Savitsky

NATO fighters are often sent to intercept Tu-95s as they perform their missions along the periphery of NATO airspace, often in close proximity to each other . All photos by Vadim Savitsky

On 17 November 2015, Tu-95s had their combat debut, being employed for the first time in long-range airstrikes as part of the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War. All photos by Vadim Savitsky

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