Burnt out bomber flew with missile under the wing outside northern Norway in February
One of the four Russian Tu-95MS bombers destroyed in Ukraine's June 1st spectacular drone attack against Olenya air base was earlier this year intercepted by a pair of Norwegian F-35s off the coast of Northern Norway.
The Barents Observer has studied older video recordings by Russia's war ministry of Tu-95 bombers from Olenya air field on the Kola Peninsula flying missions outside Norwegian airspace.
One video, from February 4th, shows an armed aircraft that today is no longer existing.
Although the ministry added blur to the plane's name and identification number in the video, it is possible to identify it as the the RF-4132, also named Voronezh. The number is visible in part of a second as the plane lands at Olenya air base after the mission. The figures follow the blurred RF-.
The flight took place over the Barents- and Norwegian Seas on February 4 and was conducted by two Tu-95MS. The bombers were partly followed by a MiG-31BM and a Su-34 out of the Kola Peninsula.
In the parts of the video showing take off and landing, a Kh-101 cruise missile can clearly be seen attached to one of the pylons of the RF-4132 Voronezh. This is the same weapon as Russia use to launch from Tu-95MS bombers against civilian targets when terror-bombing Ukrainian cities.
In another sequence of the film, a Norwegian F-35 fighter jet is seen. The aircraft, scrambled by NATO from Evenes air station, also has a missile under the wing.
The Norwegian and Russian aircraft flew side-by-side in international air space as normal is when Russian military planes are approaching outside northern Norway.
NATO said in a statement the day after that the Russian bombers "flew close to NATO airspace in the High North."
"Our Quick Reaction Alert mission in the High North is important for our national defence and NATO's collective security. The ability to respond swiftly ensures the safety of our airspace and highlights the strength of our allied forces in maintaining peace and stability," said Major General Øivind Gunnerud, Norwegian Air Chief.
The RF-4132 is a modernized version of the old strategic bomber build in Soviet times. Its model name is TU-95MSM, and the upgrade includes the option to carry the Kh-101, a sub-sonic cruise missile that entered service with the strategic air force in the 2010s.
The missile has an operational range of about 3,500 km, allowing the bombers to launch in safe distance from anti-aircraft systems. In Russia's war against Ukraine, the planes are typically in positions over the Caspian Sea when targeting apartment blocks, energy infrastructure or hospitals in Ukraine.
At the Olenya air base south of Murmansk, the RF-4132 was one of four Tu-95 bombers blown up in self-defense by Ukraine on June 1. One of the other was the RF-4257 Chelyabinsk, while the two last have not yet been identified.
About 20 of Russia's originally 60 Tu-95 planes are named after cities.
Several of the bombers that were hit at the air base on the Kola Peninsula last Sunday were armed with Kh-101 cruise missiles when attacked by the Ukrainians. They were likely just ready for another war mission.
Satellite images from a few days later showed that all four Tu-95 bombers were totally burned out, in addition to a An-12 military cargo plane parked at the same apron in the southern end of the runway.
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