should make countless military fans sigh. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the newly established Republic of Ukraine inherited a considerable Soviet military heritage, including 19 almost brand-new Tu-160s. Long-range strategic bomber. However, due to various factors, except for one of these planes, which were “harmlessly treated”, they were put into the museum as display machines, eight were delivered to the Russian Federation for debt settlement, and the remaining ten “white swans” were all Demolition cannot be restored.
This is also a joke that military fans from all walks of life are fond of, so why did the Ukrainian government in 1991 resolutely destroy these powerful Soviet heritage?
Political factors: being crippled by the United States and Russia
First of all, the editor must emphasize one thing: In the process of handling Soviet military heritage in the new Ukraine, political factors account for a considerable proportion of decision-making. As for what is "political" "Factors", to put it nicely is called strategic misjudgment, and to put it nicely is to be fooled and lame. Z2z
Under the flicker of the United States and Russia, Ukraine abolished its nuclear weapons.
The Soviet Union began to appear in the 1980s in the field of ideology and international relations. There is no recognition of the cruelty and complexity of the struggle, and one-sided wishful thinking and even pan-moralism are adopted in dealing with international relations.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the Cold War that lasted for more than 40 years ended suddenly in a dramatic way. After everyone was relieved, the international atmosphere of optimism further encouraged the new leaders of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine to relax their vigilance. Thoughts. The decision of the Ukrainian leaders to abandon the military assets left over by the Soviet Union also "benefits" to a large extent-the Cold War has ended, and the two camps of the East and the West have all been included in the "democratic state system." According to the Americans, "There will be no war between democracies."
The missiles dismantled and transported away from Ukraine
At the same time, the United States and Russia also made political guarantees for Ukraine’s freedom and independence (the Lisbon Agreement of May 23, 1992 and the Moscow Agreement of January 14, 1994) , To ensure that Ukraine will not be invaded by any country. Now that there is double insurance, it seems that this is stable. Why are we still spending our old nose and energy to preserve so many devastating Soviet war machines? It's better to join the "peace chorus" quickly and get rid of all these unused things.
Military factors: can’t afford to support them, and can’t use
. However, in addition to political factors, we must also see in Ukraine’s decision to "completely destroy Soviet heritage" that purely military factors also account for a considerable proportion. Military Factors and political factors complement each other and together lead to such a result.
On October 23, 1996, U.S. Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar participated in the destruction of Ukrainian nuclear weapons
weapons heritage
Let’s take a look at how many large combat equipment and strategic weapons Ukraine has gotten after the collapse of the Soviet Union. All right. According to current statistics, after the disintegration of the Ukrainian Army, 350 units of T-80B, 1,320 T-72B, 2,400 T-64 tanks, and 440 BTR left after the retreat of the Soviet army (or directly transferred to the army) were received. -80, 1300 BTR-70, 2100 BMP-1/2 type armored vehicles/infantry fighting vehicles, and thousands of various types of barrel artillery/multi-rocket launchers/anti-tank missiles and other support firearms.
Tanks left in Ukraine after the disintegration of the Soviet Union
In addition to the 19 Tu-160s left by the Soviet army, the Ukrainian Air Force also received 32 Tu-22M/M3 and 30 Tu-95MS, as well as 65. Su-27S/P and 220 MiG-29B/S, this is not even the loss of the Soviet air force transport aviationMore than 100 IL-76MD and IL-78 transport aircraft/refueling aircraft and 7 An-124 "Ruslan" large strategic transport aircraft to Ukraine, as well as those 2 (1 can be used for spare parts) worldwide The unique An-225 "Dream" giant strategic transport aircraft.
An-225 "Dream" transport aircraft
In addition, there are 1,068 Kh-55 air-launched long-range cruise missiles (performance equivalent to the US AGM-109) for the Soviet Air Force's long-range aviation and more than 2,400 tactics for the Soviet frontline tactical aviation. Nuclear warheads; the most powerful strategic rocket unit received 127 UR-100N and 42 РТ-23 intercontinental strategic missiles and hundreds of supporting strategic nuclear weapons. These are the last gifts the Soviet Union left to the new Ukrainian Republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
UR-100N UTTKh Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
had no money to raise weapons
Then, the Ukrainian Republic at that time faced such a large stall of weapons and equipment, could it be "rich to raise, play well, and use it well"? I am afraid that most of the answers are negative-in terms of capital and financial support, Ukraine has actually fallen into a state of economic recession since 1990. From 1992 to 1997, it has experienced 6 consecutive years of negative economic growth, including the negative growth in 1994. The rate is as high as 24%. According to official statistics, Ukraine’s total real GDP in 1997 was only 43% of 1990’s. Industrial output and infrastructure investment shrank by more than half, agricultural output fell by more than a quarter, and the fiscal deficit remained high over the years. From 1992 to 1994, the national fiscal deficit even accounted for nearly 10% of GDP.
Ukraine’s current state: poor
The entire Ukrainian economy was in an extremely unhealthy state before 2000 (of course, it was not much better after 2000). In this case, let alone can afford these hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles, thousands of tactical and strategic nuclear warheads, hundreds of advanced combat aircraft, thousands of tanks, and can maintain the basic structure of the Ukrainian army without falling apart. , Soldiers do not herd sheep. This is already considered as the Ukrainian leader burned a high incense, what more bicycles?
can’t play with these weapons
At the same time, even if Ukraine’s financial situation after the disintegration is acceptable, it can afford these large-scale combat equipment. From the perspective of "playing well and using it well", the Ukrainian army can use, Dare to use and make good use of these things? The answer is probably also no.
The Tu-160 bomber in the Kazan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant
. We still take the Tu-160 strategic bomber as the protagonist of this article. Although the deployment base is in Ukraine, the main engine factory responsible for manufacturing the Tu-160 has been mentioned before. It is at the Kazan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in the Kazan region of central-eastern Russia. The air base deployed in Ukraine only has the capability of small aircraft inspections. Even large inspections require the cooperation of technicians from the Kazan plant. This is equivalent to saying that without the assistance of Russia, these 19 Ukrainian Tu-160 bombers can only lie on the ground after flying a large period of regular inspection. The Tu-160 bomber
is still being assembled
. Not to mention, the various guarantee conditions required for the Tu-160 long-range strategic bomber once it is dispatched (it is necessary not to fly over the airspace of neighboring countries. This is very difficult for Ukraine alone. It needs land-based long-wave radio to provide timing and navigation services, which Ukraine does not have; it needs real-time escort/intelligence/reaction/search and rescue support, these things are all blank in Ukraine) to investigate, none of which can be easily handled by Ukraine .
Therefore, even if Ukraine gritted its teeth and put all 19 Tu-160s into active service at that time, at best, there would be a small batch of "air cruise missile launch vehicles" in the Ukrainian Air Force with a short period of use and severely limited range of use. It can only travel in circles on the Ukrainian land, and it will soon fall into an unusable situation. Why is
not sealed?
So, if as some opinions say now, UkeCan Lan seal up this batch of strategic bombers, on the one hand, they will be sold on the other hand, and on the other hand they will be kept as a back-up?
is actually completely infeasible: the first problem is the same as we mentioned earlier, what about money? How to seal up these planes without money? The secondary issue is more troublesome than the primary issue: what about technology? After all, "sealing the aircraft" is not just throwing the aircraft out of the field as you might imagine. According to the relevant military standards of the US military, the sealing of aircraft requires the removal of pyrotechnic devices, release of all the liquid in the aircraft, and oil film protection of the pipeline and use. A large amount of desiccant absorbs the moisture inside the aircraft, the oil seal/wax seal/sealed body all the mouth covers and exposed sensors, the whole aircraft is sprayed with special coatings and dressings, and then the aircraft is parked in a constant temperature and humidity mountain cave or climate In the dry Gobi desert area, this is called a sealed aircraft. Z2z
has one thing to say, it's still the professional way the Americans seal the aircraft.
Even so far, Russia has not fully completed the long-term storage technology of aircraft (on the one hand, there is no money, on the other hand, it is unnecessary), not to mention Ukraine. , It can be seen how the batch of T-80Us sealed in the Kharkiv Tank Factory rotten. If Ukraine at that time was determined to seal Tu-160, it would take less than two years for wind and sun, rain, microbial corrosion, and small animal bites to turn the plane into a pile of scrap iron.
is located in the tank cemetery in Kharkov,
. Therefore, for the Ukrainian government in 1992, political misjudgment and military embarrassment finally determined the fate of these Tu-160 strategic bombers.
On the premise of believing that Ukraine will be stable and far-reaching on the “road of democracy and freedom”, after the disintegration of Ukraine’s economy is experiencing “throats”, it is impossible to seal these big guys in the Ukrainian army if it is not used properly. Under the circumstances, these 19 "White Swans" thus ushered in their final destiny.
The lucky ones were sent back to Russia to offset their debts, and the unfortunate ones were scrapped in exchange for financial aid from the United States. Looking at it now, there is only a sigh.
