Russian Tu-22 Backfire Crashes In Kaluga Region

A Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber belonging to the Russian Air Force crashed Tuesday in the Kaluga region, learned GDC citing Tass News agency.

Russian media on March. 23, 2021, reported that a Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bomber crashed at Shaykovka airbase, in the Kaluga region, killing the three crew on board.

The cause or causes of the crash are unknown, but local sources reported that the bomber caught on fire immediately after crashing.

Three crew members of the Tu-22M3 bomber died due to the operation of the ejection system.

At the same time, according to an Interfax source, the aicraft made an emergency landing due to a technical malfunction on board. Russian experts believe, by looking at the circumstances of the incident that the ejection system is defective, as well as the human factor – the incident could have occurred due to an error made during the maintenance of ejection systems.

The Tu-22M3 is a Soviet-era supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s.

The Tupolev Tu-22M (also known as Backfire) is a long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by Tupolev for the Soviet Air Force. The aircraft is currently in service with the Russian Air Force and Russian Naval Aviation.

The Tu-22M was based on the design of the Tu-22 aircraft. The first Tu-22M-0 prototype completed its maiden flight in August 1969. The Tu-22M-1 first flew in July 1971 and the Tu-22M was first deployed in combat missions in Afghanistan between 1987 and 1989. The Tu-22M3 was used by Russia for combat operations in Chechnya in 1995.

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