The American website "1945" published an article titled "Why Russia Used Old Kh-22 Aircraft Carrier Killer Missiles to Attack Ukraine ". The content discussed the Russian Air Force dispatched Tu-22M3 strategic bomber and launched It used old-fashioned Kh-22 "carrier killer" missiles and bombed supermarkets and machinery factories in Ukraine. The United States is very concerned about Russia's old strategic bomber . Since the late 1990s, every once in a while, there will be news that "China has purchased the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber," and "China has introduced the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber production line." They all thought that China was going to purchase the Tu-22M3. Strategic bomber, but the result is that to this day, none of China's Tu-22M3 strategic bombers are equipped. The Tu-22M3 strategic bomber is not a particularly new bomber, and it is still a very powerful weapon. It is one of the main forces of the Russian Air Force's long-range aviation. However, the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber is no longer the most powerful bomber in the world!
The Tu-22 is now in its twilight years.
html At about 3:45 pm on June 27, the 52nd heavy bomber of the Russian Air Force A Tu-22M3 "Backfire" supersonic bomber of the Bomber Aviation Regiment was flying in Russian airspace near Kursk. At that time, the Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber launched two huge missiles nearly 12 meters long under the wing. missile . When the liquid propellant-driven rocket engine is ignited, it accelerates the 6.4-ton Kh-22 "aircraft carrier killer" missile to supersonic speed.
The exclusive missile of the Tu-22, Kh-22
, takes about five minutes. Afterwards, the missile flew 200 miles southwest and then fell at a 30-degree angle at 4 to 5 times the speed of sound. Target: The city of Kremenchuk on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine. The Kh-22 missile is based on. gyro inertial navigation system in the 1970s. One of the missiles hit the bustling Amsterdam shopping center in downtown Klemenko. The aircraft carrier punched a hole 12 meters deep and 5 meters wide. The missile destroyed the interior of the mall, causing the roof to collapse.
Did the Russian missile hit the wrong place?
The second missile landed at about 450 meters. Meters away, the missile shattered the glass of the Ukrainian Kredmash Road Machinery Factory and injured two of the 100 employees present. In this regard, the Russian side claimed that the explosion was caused by the destruction of a Ukrainian shopping mall. Caused by the military ammunition depot , the mall has been no longer for civilian use for a long time and has been used as a barracks by the Ukrainian army.
According to US media reports, this is not the first time that the Russian Air Force Tu-22M3 strategic bomber has bombed Ukraine: On May 9, seven Kh-22 missiles were fired at Fontanka near Odessa in southern Ukraine. Several missiles smashed into the Riviera shopping center, destroying several shops, warehouses and nearby houses. One person died and five others were injured.
Russian Kh-22 missiles are often put into use
- On May 11, the Russian military itself released a video of a Kh-22 missile being launched at night, taken from the cockpit of a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber.
- May 9: The Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber launched 6 Kh-22 missiles aimed at the target of Donetsk .
- May 12: 8-12 Kh-22 missiles (launched from the sky over Kursk) targeted the Ukrainian refinery, which is the largest refinery in Ukraine (capacity 368,550 barrels/day).
- May 20: A Kh-22 missile destroyed the City Palace of Culture south of Kharkiv, injuring seven people.
- May 25: The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber carried out "high-precision strikes" in the Donbass area and should also use Kh-22 missiles.
- May 27: The Russian army claimed that the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber launched two Kh-22 missiles, targeting Donetsk.
- May 30: A Kh-22 missile was shot down by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile over Odessa.
- June 3: 10 Kh-22 missiles were launched towards Kiev, Lviv and other places.
- June 12: Two Kh-22 missiles bombed Donetsk, destroying 31 houses and administrative buildings, as well as power lines (cutting power to neighboring cities) and a railway line (a possible target).
- June 16: Two Kh-22 missiles crashed into an office building.
- June 18: Two Kh-22 missiles hit an oil depot in Novomoskovsk, reportedly killing one person and injuring 13 others. The blaze also killed one firefighter and injured two others.
- June 23: Three Kh-22 missiles hit the Sunflower oil depot in Nikolaev, and then hit the Nikolaev industrial zone facility.
- June 25: According to reports, 6 Tu-22M3 strategic bombers launched 12 Kh-22 missiles over Belarus for attacks on Chernigov, Kiev, Sumy and Zhitomir, and more than 20 Together with other types of missiles (Iskander, Kalibr, etc.), they attacked an industrial facility in Konstantinovka. Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles allegedly shot down 10-12 missiles of all types. The attack killed at least one Ukrainian soldier.
Kh-22 missiles launched by Tu-22M3 strategic bombers usually hit oil depots, warehouses, factories and other strategic infrastructure. There has been a recent trend towards large-scale Kh-22 missile strikes, which could oversaturate Ukraine's air defense system .
US media believes: "Russia's aging Kh-22 missile inventory fills the gap of insufficient modern cruise missiles and ballistic missiles , and some of them will definitely be retained in the event of a war with NATO ."
Kh-22 is huge and Expensive
The Kh-22 was an expensive weapon at the time, with an estimated cost of $400,000, and Russia likely retained close to 3,000 of them. The Kh-22 missile was originally used as a weapon for the aircraft carrier killer to sink the US Navy aircraft carrier. The Tu-22M3 bomber can launch missiles 300 kilometers away from the US Navy aircraft carrier battle group, giving the carrier-based fighter almost no chance of interception.
American historian Tom Cooper believes: "The combination of Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and Kh-22 missiles is enough to force the U.S. Navy to develop complex air defense capabilities, including F-14 Tomcat fighter jets and E-2 "Hawkeye" early warning aircraft and Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers. Currently, the Russian Air Force only retains about 65 Tu-22M3 bombers, and Russia is slowly trying to upgrade them. Ironically, the Ukrainian Air Force initially also retained 60 Tu-22M strategic bombers. 423 Kh-22 missiles, but except for a few preserved in the museum, all were dismantled and smashed at the request of the United States.
This is absolutely a wonderful irony.
As Russia suffered heavy losses in the Russo-Ukrainian war, China is in great need. Some people believe that "China can buy some military weapons that can be delivered immediately from Russia", such as " Figure 22 bomber , Russian nuclear submarine ", etc. There are the most rumors about the Sino-Russian military trade. The most widespread one is the Tu-22M3 "Backfire" bomber.
The Tu-22M3 "Backfire" bomber is indeed a legend during the Cold War. The Tu-22M series bomber is actually a completely new design. The aircraft can carry out both strategic nuclear bombing and tactical bombing. The Tu-22M3 bomber was tested in 1976 and entered service in 1983. Once a long-term nightmare for the Chinese air defense forces, the Tu-22M3 bomber forced China to develop the J-8. Fighter, designed to intercept Tu-22M3 bombers.
The supersonic penetration capability of the Tu-22M was once very feared.
The Russian Tu-22M3M bomber is the fastest bomber in the world and can theoretically fire 4 rounds at a speed of Mach 10. The hypersonic missile , similarly, in theory, four Russian military Tu-22M3M bombers can destroy an aircraft carrier battle group . Earlier, Chinese military fans believed that the Russian Tu-22M3 "Backfire" strategic bomber was introduced. "Very important." At every turn, China is about to introduce Russia's "Backfire" bomber , as if the Chinese Air Force would lack combat effectiveness without the Tu-22M3M bomber. It even has a domestic model name: "Hangzhou." -10 bombers".Even in 2006, 2008, and 2012, there were many rumors that "China and Russia have reached an agreement to introduce the Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber production line" and "Russia has offered a price of US$1.5 billion for this project and promised to transfer all technical data." It was later confirmed that it was all fake news.
This is also a classic fake picture!
Over the years, the H-6 bomber has developed into the K/J/N model, and no one is discussing the introduction of the Tu-22M3M bomber. In 2017, the H-6K bomber crushed the Russian army's Backfire bomber by a large margin at the international military competition . This is even more true. Strategic bombers are "the most important weapon of the country" and Russia will not share them easily with others. The Tu-22M3M bomber will only be a burden to China. Compared with the bomber 6K, the aircraft's electronic equipment is backward, the variable swept wing structure is complex and is not conducive to maintenance, and its only advantage is its large bomb load, but this alone , there is really no need to introduce this machine! The Tu-22M3M bomber design concept is outdated and has no stealth capabilities. The precision-guided weapon is rarely used, and it is difficult to use it in front of countries with strong air defense capabilities.
The avionics of the Tu-22 are indeed old.
And now that anti-aircraft missiles, air-to-air missiles, , and electronic technology are developing rapidly, the old Tu-22M3M bomber may not be a good choice. The relationship is good. Russia did not put this in 10 or 20 years ago. Sharp weapons are sold to China, and there is no point in buying them now! China has equipped electromagnetic catapult-type aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. When China has its own large-scale stealth strategic bombers, it will be even more invincible in Asia!
