This section presents long-range aircraft, which formed its basis from its inception, formation and development to the present. From the first aircraft to modern models that are in service with the Long-Range Aviation of Russia.
From "Ilya Muromets" - to the Tu-160 "White Swan".

B-25 "Mitchell" Medium bomber, twin-engine all-metal monoplane with two tail tails. Designed in the design bureau of the American company "North American". The prototype aircraft made its first flight in January 1939. Of the 5815 copies produced, 862 were delivered to the USSR in accordance with the Allied military assistance agreement (Lend-Lease). The first aircraft in the Soviet Union came in April 1942, the mass delivery (mainly through Alaska along the Alsib highway) began in 1943. At first, the V-25 (in Soviet documents it was designated as the "B-25") was assigned to Frontal Aviation, however it was soon recognized as more appropriate to use it as a long-range bomber as part of the ADD. Crew - 5-6 people.

The Tu-4 aircraft was created in the design bureau of A.N. Tupolev on the basis of the American long-range bomber B-29 "Superfortress" and originally had the designation B-4.

Since the B-29 had already "proven itself in action" over Japan, Stalin at the end of 1945 ordered Tupolev to make a copy. The creation of the bomber was given state importance. The aircraft was preparing for the deadline for completing work on the first Soviet atomic bomb. By the spring of 1947, the first experimental car was built in Kazan at plant number 22.

The heavy strategic bomber M-4 (3M) was created in the design bureau of V.M. Myasishchev. The cooling in relations between the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, which began immediately after the end of the war, became more and more tense. Demonstration by the Americans atomic weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced the Soviet side to speed up the pace of creating their own atomic bomb. The bomb soon appeared in the USSR, but this was not enough - it was also necessary to create its carrier, capable of carrying the "load" to America - the main enemy in the confrontation that was gaining momentum.

The Tu-16 aircraft is the first Soviet long-range swept-wing jet bomber. The machine was equipped with two engines designed by Mikulin RD-3M. On April 27, 1952, the first flight on it was made by a test pilot of the Tupolev company N.S. Rybko. Despite the fact that the cars did not reach the specified range (the first jet engines were distinguished by their “voracity”), Stalin ordered the aircraft to be put into production.

The Tu-16 was serially produced from 1953 to 1963 at three factories - No. 22 in Kazan, No. 64 in Voronezh and No. 18 in Kuibyshev. A total of 1507 vehicles were built.

Strategic bomber and missile carrier, the only aircraft of this type in the world with turboprop engines. The characteristics of the first carriers of atomic weapons Tu-4 and Tu-16 were very modest in terms of the scale that dictated " cold war". We needed strategic intercontinental bombers. The task for such a machine OKB A.N. Tupolev received in the spring of 1950. The aircraft was created in the brigade of B.M. Kondorsky.

From the beginning of the 1950s the capabilities of anti-aircraft missiles grew rapidly. It was necessary to create an attack aircraft capable of overcoming the air defense system of a potential enemy at supersonic speed. The Tu-22 long-range supersonic missile carrier was created in the design bureau of A.N. Tupolev. The experimental machine was called "105". Work on it was carried out by the chief designer D.S. Markov. The aircraft had a swept wing and a narrow fuselage. The engines were located on top of the rear fuselage.

Supersonic long-range bomber-missile carrier. It began to be developed as a complex in the OKB A.N. Tupolev (chief designer - D.S. Markov) in 1965 to replace the Tu-22 bomber. The aircraft had a variable wing geometry and could overcome the air defense system of a potential enemy at low altitude. The new strike complex also included the new Kh-22 missile. The aircraft was intended to arm the regiments of long-range and naval aviation.

To reduce the cost of maintaining the proper level of flight training for Long-Range Aviation crews, it was decided to use cheaper aircraft, but with a full set of equipment similar to that on bombers. The Tu-134 aircraft was recognized as optimal. The government decree on the creation of the liner was issued on August 1, 1960, and on July 29, 1963, the aircraft took to the air for the first time (pilot A.D. Kalina). From August 1967, the aircraft began to operate regular flights to the Civil Air Fleet.

Strategic supersonic bomber and missile carrier. Designed to destroy objects in continental theaters with nuclear and conventional weapons. Created in the Design Bureau. A.N. Tupolev.

The rapid development of missiles in the west in the 1950s and 1970s left little chance for the Tu-95 and 3M subsonic bombers to reach their target. Therefore, aircraft designers were tasked with creating new strike systems capable of overcoming enemy air defenses at low altitude and at supersonic speeds.

IL-78

The Il-78 specialized tanker aircraft was created on the basis of the Il-76 military transport aircraft. The machine began to be designed in the OKB S.V. Ilyushin in accordance with the government decree of March 10, 1982 on the basis of the Il-76M. At the same time, the aft defensive weapons were dismantled. The task provided for the possibility of both air and ground refueling, day and night.

The first flight of the Il-78 took place on June 26, 1983. The aircraft was lifted into the air by the crew of V.S. Belousov. Refueling in the air was carried out by the crew of S.G. Bliznyuk.

The previous position of General Kobylash was the head of the 4th State Center for the Training of Aviation Personnel and Military Tests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Lipetsk. Sergei Kobylash has been in charge of the personnel forge for military pilots since 2015.

The new commander of Long-Range Aviation was born on April 1, 1965 in Odessa. He graduated from the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School named after Komarov, the Air Force Academy named after Gagarin and military academy General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Kobylash went from a pilot to the chief of aviation of the Air Force, mastered a number of aircraft, including the Su-30SM, Su-34 and An-26. Member of the first and second Chechen wars, the war in South Ossetia in 2008. Has the title of Hero Russian Federation, awarded the order Courage, the Order "For Military Merit", the medal "For Courage" and other departmental medals. It is noted that Sergei Kobylash is qualified as a sniper pilot. The total flight time exceeds 1.5 thousand hours.

Recall that the previous commander of Long-Range Aviation, Lieutenant General Anatoly Zhikharev, left his post due to reaching retirement age.

According to data from the official website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, long-range aviation formations and units are armed with strategic and long-range bombers, tanker aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft. Operating mainly in strategic depth, they perform the following main tasks: destroying air bases (airfields), ground-based missile complexes, aircraft carriers and other surface ships, objects from the enemy’s reserves, military-industrial facilities, administrative and political centers, energy facilities and hydraulic structures, naval bases and ports, command posts of formations of the armed forces and operational air defense control centers in the theater of operations, land communications facilities, landing units and convoys; mining from the air. Part of the long-range aviation forces may be involved in conducting aerial reconnaissance and performing special tasks.

Long-range aviation is a component of the Strategic Nuclear Forces. Long-range aviation formations and units are based from Novgorod in the west of the country to Anadyr and Ussuriysk in the east, from Tiksi in the north to Blagoveshchensk in the south of the country. The basis of the aircraft fleet is made up of Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, Tu-22M3 long-range missile carrier bombers, Il-78 tanker aircraft and Tu-22MR reconnaissance aircraft. The main armament of the aircraft: long-range aviation cruise missiles and operational-tactical missiles in nuclear and conventional warheads, as well as aviation bombs of various purposes and calibers.

A practical demonstration of the spatial indicators of the combat capabilities of the Long-Range Aviation Command is air patrol flights of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft in the area of ​​Iceland Island and the Norwegian Sea; to the North Pole and to the area of ​​the Aleutian Islands; along the east coast of South America.

Regardless of the organizational structure in which long-range aviation exists and will exist, the combat strength, the characteristics of the aircraft and weapons in service, the main task of long-range aviation on the scale of the Aerospace Forces should be considered both nuclear and non-nuclear deterrence of potential adversaries. In the event of a war, Long-Range Aviation will carry out tasks to reduce the military and economic potential of the enemy, destroy important military facilities, and disrupt state and military control.

Annually December 23 Russia celebrates the Day of Long-Range Aviation - a professional holiday for all military personnel directly related to long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force. This is a relatively young holiday. It was established only in 1999 by order of Anatoly Kornukov, Commander-in-Chief of the country's Air Force.

Russian Long-Range Aviation Day

The holiday date was certainly not chosen by chance, it has a historical justification. It was on December 23, 1913 that the Ilya Muromets four-engine heavy bomber made its first test flight. This is the world's first serial multi-engine bomber aircraft designer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky. He is rightly called the "great-grandfather" of all modern strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Only a year later, on December 23, 1914, the imperial decree of Nicholas II was issued. As a result, a resolution of the Military Council on the formation of the Ilya Muromets bomber squadron was approved in Russia. This event became the starting point in the history of heavy bomber aviation not only in our country, but throughout the world. In 2018, Russian long-range aviation is already celebrating its 104th birthday.

World War I

During the First World War, the crews of the Ilya Muromets bomber squadron made about 400 sorties. In 1917, the squadron had 20 four-engine bombers. After October revolution in March 1918, the formation of the Northern Group of Aircraft (SGVK) began. Aircraft "Ilya Muromets" of this group were to be involved in polar expeditions and reconnaissance of the Northern Sea Route. However, the tense situation and fierce battles at the sites of the civil war in Russia did not allow this project to be realized. In November 1918, the SGVK was renamed the Air Group. The air group, in turn, in 1919 received the official name - the Division of Airships.

The further development of long-range aviation in our country was associated with the adoption of the TB-3 heavy bomber in the 1930s. It was designed by the famous aircraft designer Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev. In 1936, the Air Force of the Red Army began to receive new DB-3 bombers, as well as DB-3F, designed in the design bureau of Sergei Ilyushin.

In 1936-1938, aviation brigades and heavy bomber corps were reduced to three separate air armies for special purposes. All three armies were directly subordinated to the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In 1940, units and formations of heavy bombers entered the formed long-range bomber aviation of the Red Army High Command (DBA GK). To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The DBA GK included 5 aviation corps, 3 separate aviation divisions and one separate air regiment. According to experts, on June 22, 1941, the DBA consisted of only about 1,500 aircraft and almost 1,000 trained crews who were in full combat readiness.

The Great Patriotic War

The first sorties were made by Soviet long-range bombers on June 22, 1941. During the war, long-range aviation crews took part in all major battles Red Army. And also carried out special tasks of the Soviet command.

Already during the war in March 1942, long-range bomber aviation was reorganized into long-range aviation, and in December 1944 - into the 18th Air Army. In 1946, the Long-Range Aviation of the USSR Armed Forces was formed on the basis of this army. In total, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, the flight crew of long-range bombers carried out about 220 thousand sorties. As a result, more than two million aerial bombs of various calibers were dropped on enemy positions and infrastructure.

Postwar years

In the 1950s, jet technology was adopted. Tu-16 long-range bombers and Tu-95 and 3M strategic bombers were put into operation. After that, there was undoubtedly a real qualitative leap in the development of long-range aviation. Soviet Union. In the same years, long-range aircraft and crews began to explore the skies over the Arctic. Over the years from 1970 to 1980, new aviation complexes have replenished the composition of long-range aviation. Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS and Tu-160 received air-launched cruise missiles with a long range.

After a forced lull and downtime, which was associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the difficult economic condition of the country, the intensity of flights by long-range aviation crews began to grow again in the 2000s. So in 2001, for the first time after a ten-year break, Russian strategic bombers appeared in the area over the North Pole. In August 2007, Russian long-range aviation resumed flights in remote regions of the planet on a permanent basis. Airspace patrolling is carried out in the regions of economic activity and active navigation of Russia. Air patrol flights are carried out in the water area over the neutral waters of the Arctic, Atlantic, Black Sea, Pacific Ocean from both base and operational airfields on the territory of our country.

After the end of the Second World War, long-range aircraft took part in the hostilities. For example, in Afghanistan in the 1980s and in the North Caucasus in the 1990s. And also, in the operation to force Georgia to peace in 2008. On November 17, 2015, Russian long-range and strategic bombers took off from airfields in Russia. They delivered massive strikes with new X-101 air-launched cruise missiles and aerial bombs against the targets of militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) in Syria. This operation was the first combat use of Russian strategists - Tu-160 and Tu-95 family aircraft. As you know, in 2015-2017, long-range aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were repeatedly involved in air strikes on positions and targets of terrorists on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Our days

For 104 years of its existence, Russian long-range aviation has come a long way. A glorious path from the first squadron of four-engine biplanes "Ilya Muromets" to its modern look. Today, the long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force is armed with modern jet and turboprop aircraft. First, these are Tu-160 and Tu-160M ​​supersonic strategic missile carriers with variable sweep wing. Secondly, Tu-95MS and Tu-95MSM four-engine turboprop strategic bombers. Thirdly, these are modernized Tu-22M3 long-range bombers. And also, Il-78 tanker aircraft and other types of aviation equipment. In 2018 alone, the long-range aviation was replenished with four more upgraded Tu-95MS bombers and one Tu-160 bomber.

The main weapons of Russian long-range aviation aircraft are long-range aviation cruise missiles, operational-tactical missiles in conventional and nuclear warheads, as well as aerial bombs for various purposes and calibers.

Long-range aviation is going through difficult times. However, despite the existing difficulties, personnel long-range aviation effectively performs all the tasks assigned to it, namely, it ensures combat readiness at the very high level. This is the main aviation component of the strategic nuclear forces of our country and the strike force of the Air Force.

As you know, the country's long-range aviation originates from airships called Ilya Muromets. They are overall four-engine bombers, and the very first in the world.

In the second half of the 20th century, precision weapons of all types became indispensable and effective tool struggle in three physical spheres: at sea, on land and in the air. This is evidenced by the events of the war in the Middle East, in Vietnam, operations: "The Fox in the Desert", "Desert Storm", "Resolute Force". Moreover, in the last three operations, high-precision air and sea-based cruise missiles (ALCM, SLCM) have shown an increasing role in air combat. High-precision weapons are constantly evolving, now they can accurately hit the target, no matter where it is.

Considering state of the art of the country's economy, as well as its geopolitical position, the main direction of development of long-range aviation is considered to be:

• maintenance of long-range aviation at a level that ensures the solution of all assigned strategic tasks;
• modernization of combat aviation systems (especially for combat aircraft);
• development of advanced aviation complexes;
• bringing long-range aviation to the level of combat readiness that would make it possible to carry out any assigned combat missions as efficiently as possible in a timely manner.

Well, if we take into account the current world military-political situation, the country's economic capabilities for military development, then long-range aviation should also undergo modernization of strategic aviation systems.

Modern long-range aviation in a conventional war can solve a lot of the most important operational and strategic tasks, which include:

defeat of ships, aircraft carrier groups in combat maneuvering areas and at sea or ocean crossings;

the defeat of the main aviation groupings at air bases (airfields) in remote geographical areas;

the defeat of important military-industrial and energy facilities, as well as strategic and operational reserves, naval bases, communication centers and naval bases, the main centers of state and higher military administration, etc.

Today, the security of our country depends on a correct understanding of the important role of long-range aviation in the fight against an external adversary. After all, long-range aviation is one of the most flexible tools of a combat vehicle, which, unlike the intercontinental missiles of the Strategic Missile Forces and submarine missile carriers of the Navy, can be effectively used in non-nuclear equipment in local conflicts, as well as under conditions big war apart from other important tasks. Such ambiguity and flexibility provide long-range aviation with a stable place in the future, despite the significantly lower reaction speed and charge compared to intercontinental missiles.

In general, over the past few years, long-range aviation has won the most important place in the Air Force. She was and will be in combat formation to fulfill all the tasks assigned to her to protect the country.

Strategic bombers with long-range cruise missiles are capable of not only inflicting devastating strikes on given targets anywhere in the world, but also demonstrating determination to apply of his weapon. Long-range aviation- one of the most important components of the Russian strike forces nuclear deterrence.

By its status, scale and nature of the tasks performed, it is a means for solving strategic tasks. Long-range aviation is armed with Tu-160, Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, Il-78(M) tanker aircraft, An-30B special aircraft, An-12, An-26 transport aircraft, Mi- 8 and Mi-26.

In the course of fulfilling the state defense order, long-range aviation units received modernized aircraft of all modifications and aircraft engines.

AT recent times flights of long-range aircraft were resumed under the strategic deterrence plan. Tu-160 strategic bombers landed at the airfields of the Caribbean countries (Venezuela, Nicaragua), thanks to the use of tanker aircraft from the airfields of North Africa (Egypt) and South-East Asia(Vietnam). Long-range aircraft also reached the waters of the Mediterranean and South China Seas.
For the first time, Il-78 aircraft of the aviation regiment of tanker aircraft
Long-Range Aviation Commands landed at the Cairo airfield (Egypt), and the crews of Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers performed flights according to the strategic deterrence plan along the coast of Norway, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal with in-flight refueling.

The flight plan for long-range aviation crews is 100% fulfilled, the average flight time is 130 hours.

The main tasks this year are to carry out strategic deterrence flights to remote geographic areas for the full range of strategic bombers, including in-flight refueling, as well as participation in strategic command and staff exercises.

Syria. The destruction of terrorist bases is one of the tasks that the Russian Aerospace Forces successfully completed.

One of the priority areas of the State Defense Order is to receive upgraded Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 aircraft from industrial enterprises. All vehicles that have undergone modernization will receive new complexes and systems, which will significantly increase their combat potential.

Vacuum gift from the "White Swan":

why are Americans so afraid of the Tu-160

Tu-160M ​​strategic missile carriers will become the basis for non-strategic deterrence of a potential enemy from aggression against Russia. Last year, the Air Force received the first such machine.

And by 2020 Tu-160M in Russian army will be at least 10. Unlike their predecessors, they will be able to use not only nuclear, but also conventional high-precision weapons of increased power.

Tu-160 supersonic strategic bombers entered service with long-range aviation in 1987. For the grace of forms, the heavy bomber-missile carrier received a beautiful name "White Swan", and in NATO countries - Blackjack. A feature of the aircraft was the variable sweep wing, which allows you to make ultra-long flights in an economical mode of engine operation - without refueling in the air for almost 14,000 km. The maximum takeoff weight is 275 tons. The maximum speed is 2230 km / h. Cruising - 917 km / h. Combat load - 45 tons.

Strategic bombers: the domestic Tu-160 and the American B-B1 were created almost at the same time and were designed to solve similar problems. The capabilities of the aircraft were compared by military expert Mikhail Timoshenko. He recalled that initially both bombers were created to deliver cruise missiles with nuclear charges to enemy territory. The expert noted that in many respects the domestic side was ahead of the overseas one.

“The Tu-160 is superior to the B-B1 in terms of maximum speed. For our bomber it is 2300 km per hour, for the American it is 1328. The combat radius of the Tu-160 is 6000 km, for the B-1B it is 5500. Our machine with 45 tons of combat load can go to the target, at supersonic speed, at a distance of 6000 kilometers, and then return, a foreign aircraft will not be able to do this - it has a range of 5,500 km, ”Tymoshenko explained.

According to the expert, the Tu-160 outperformed the “competitor” in terms of combat load - 45 tons against 34 in internal edema. “Some say that the B-1B can also be mounted on external nodes, but then you need to forget about its maximum range. It will drop significantly if additional weapons appear on external nodes, ”the expert explained. Aircraft differ significantly in their weapons.

“The Americans have cluster and guided bombs on board. They can also carry cruise missiles, but their range is significantly less than that of the weapons that the Tu-160 has.

X-55 missiles fly at a distance of up to 3 thousand kilometers, and more advanced domestic models of missiles - up to 5 thousand, ”the expert emphasized.
Foreign aircraft are more designed to work on unprotected targets and overcome enemy missile defense systems at low altitude. Domestic Tu-160s are designed to attack the enemy with cruise missiles at long distances. The expert especially emphasized that a 200-kilogram nuclear charge (namely, this is how much each of the 12 Tu-160 cruise missiles carries) will be quite enough to destroy highly protected targets, for example, enemy bunkers. In their place, only a funnel with a diameter of 300 meters and a depth of 50 will remain.

Size matters

Unlike nuclear missiles, strategic bombers are a more flexible tool of persuasion. Taking off from the Engels airfield near Saratov, our "White Swans" can easily fly to the coast of the USA, Great Britain, suddenly find themselves in Indian Ocean or off the coast of Australia. Under them, the so-called “jump” airfields were specially made - intermediate bases where the crew can rest, technical services replenish fuel supplies, carry out maintenance of cars. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed that our bombers would be able to “fly in for a smoke break” in Latin American countries: Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
Moreover, in the "womb" of a bomber can now lie not only Kh-55 long-range strategic nuclear cruise missiles, but also the latest X-101, as well as heavy-duty vacuum bombs.

The first presentation of such a bomb in 2003 was made by the Americans, showing the GBU-43 / B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB) ammunition. This 11-ton TNT bomb for its destructive power was
pompously called the "Mother of all bombs" by the Americans. The bomb was designed by Boeing designer Albert Wimorts. Its length is 10 m, its diameter is 1 m. Of its mass, 8.5 tons is explosive. This is a thermobaric bomb. In such a projectile, propylene or ethylene oxide, which has a boiling point of about 11 degrees, is used as fuel. During the detonation of the charge, an aerosol cloud is formed, which reacts with oxygen, resulting in an explosion. 30 vacuum bombs are capable of destroying all life within a radius of more than two thousand meters.

In 2003, the US Air Force conducted two tests of the GBU-43 / B bomb at a test site in Florida. During Operation Enduring Freedom, one copy of the GBU-43 / B was sent to Iraq, but it remained unused - by the time it was delivered, active fighting ended. The GBU-43 / B, with all its advantages, has a significant disadvantage - its main carrier is not a combat aircraft, but a military transport C-130 Hercules, which drops a bomb at a target through a loading ramp - that is, it can only be used if the enemy has no air defense or completely suppressed. Therefore, the Russian version of the bomb is superior to the American counterpart not only in terms of combat characteristics, but also in terms of what can be used from the best Tu-160M ​​strategic bombers in the world.

Father of all bombs

The Russian response to the "mother of all bombs" followed in 2007. Then a film was shown on central television, as a Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber takes off from the airfield. Here the doors of his bomb bay open, and something that looks like a barrel slips out. On a small white parachute, the bomb rushes to the ground. Next is an explosion. Then its consequences: the ruins of a high-rise building (most likely some kind of industrial buildings), the earth burned to the state of the lunar surface, debris military equipment and stones.
“The test results of the created ammunition showed that it is commensurate in its effectiveness and capabilities with a nuclear weapon,” Alexander Rukshin, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, commented on the situation at the time. - At the same time, and I especially want to emphasize this, the effect of this ammunition does not pollute at all environment compared to nuclear weapons. The new warhead will provide us with the opportunity to ensure the security of the state and at the same time counter international terrorism in any situation and in any region.”

“The new vacuum bomb made it possible to replace a number of previously created low-yield nuclear weapons (tactical nuclear weapons with a capacity of no more than 5 kilotons that can be used on the battlefield,” said then the Deputy Chief of the General Staff

According to some reports, the Russian response, nicknamed the “Father of all bombs” by analogy with the American bomb, weighs more than 7 tons, and the explosion power reaches 44 tons of TNT. With a smaller mass of explosive, as noted by the military, than in the American bomb 7.1 against 8.2 tons, respectively, the Russian ammunition is four times more powerful. At the same time, the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion is twice as high. The total area of ​​damage, according to some reports, exceeds the American counterpart by 20 times.

Stripper

Volumetric detonating aviation bombs (ODAB) operate on the basis of the so-called volumetric explosion. They are created by the Moscow State Research and Production Enterprise "Basalt". They are intended to destroy targets located in the folds of the terrain or in open field fortifications, as well as to make passages in minefields. So, the Americans in Vietnam "cleared" them areas in the jungle for helicopter landings. Soviet army in Afghanistan bombed the caves of Tora Bora and other underground fortifications of dushmans. In the USSR and Russia, until recently, the ODAB-1500 volumetric detonating bomb and the FAB-9000 high-explosive bomb were considered the most powerful aviation ammunition. This is a high-explosive projectile of large caliber, which is designed to operate on large land and sea targets.
In the nose of the bomb there is a complex electromechanical device designed for cocking and spraying explosives. After resetting the device, after a set time, the spraying of the combat substance begins. The resulting aerosol is converted into a gas-air mixture, which is then blown up by a fuse. ODAB creates a shock wave with an overpressure of about 3000 kPa (30 kgf / cm), in fact, forming a vacuum environment completely devoid of air in the epicenter of the explosion. This pressure drop literally tears everything from the inside: people, military equipment, fortifications and defensive structures of the enemy. Bombs can be used in any weather conditions from heights of 200-1000 m at speeds of 500-1100 km/h.

Volumetric detonating bombs are classified by the UN as "inhumane means of warfare causing undue human suffering". However, despite this wording, they are not prohibited and generally do not fall under any international treaty.

“The use of such weapons is not regulated by any international treaties,” Vadim Kozyulin, a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, confirmed to the ZVEZDA TV channel, so this is a very dangerous weapon of war. - According to its characteristics, it is comparable to nuclear, but does not pollute the surrounding area. So it can be applied at any suitable moment.”

What do our “partners” think about it?

Russia's new cruise missiles pose a "very big challenge" to US defense by allowing long-range aircraft to strike North American targets without leaving Russian airspace, the head of the Aerospace Defense Command said Wednesday. North America(NORAD) Admiral William Gortney.

According to him, Russian long-range aviation is qualitatively better than the Soviet one, and the interception Russian missiles much more difficult than intercepting Soviet strategic bombers.

“Cruise missiles are very effective, very difficult to defend against, and this is a very big challenge for NORAD,” said Admiral Gortney, a former combat pilot on American aircraft carriers. Gortney spoke at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“The challenge we face is Russian long-range aviation and the threat of Russian cruise missiles from submarines and (other) underwater and surface platforms. This is a challenge, because for 57 years NORAD has been involved in defense. It was assumed that Soviet or Russian long-range aviation enters our combat space, and we have to deal with them there, ”the NORAD commander explained.

“But Russia puts forward qualitatively better forces than the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union based on the number. They have a different doctrine,” added the admiral.

“They are deploying guided missiles that are very accurate and have very long range to the point where their long-range aircraft can now stay in Russian airspace and use conventional nuclear warheads against targets and critical infrastructure in Canada, the US and the Pacific Northwest. coast (USA and Canada)," he added.

"It makes us catch arrows instead of trying to shoot archers," Gortney concluded.

Andrey Karaulov:

The US is horrified by our "weapons doomsday» IL-80

Olga Shablinskaya, AiF.en:

Andrey Viktorovich, in a recent interview with AiF, you spoke about the revival of defense enterprises ... This caused controversy among readers: they say that there is a crisis in the country, we ourselves are naked ..., but we are building missiles!

Andrey Karaulov:

Liberals will tell you that Putin makes expensive toys that cannot be sold anywhere in the world, and these toys will ruin our country. But we have the Il-80 - this is a "doomsday weapon", that's what the Americans called it ... Management is as follows: three people - the president, the minister of defense and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - simultaneously pressing the buttons, launch the country's nuclear missiles. One president will not launch a nuclear missile, nor will one defense minister, and even the president and defense minister together will not launch nuclear missiles if there is no third one - the chief of the General Staff. And if the Supreme Commander-in-Chief suddenly died during the bombing, if the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff suddenly died during the same bombing, then what? That is, they killed everyone ...

And what then?

And then a huge Il-80 car rises into the air, and from this plane all the mines where our nuclear missiles are located - Rubezh, Topol, Satan, Yars, Bulava, receive a command to launch, in response to that villain who struck at our country ...

Can you imagine? Some kind of apocalypse, they killed everyone - and suddenly ... a command comes to all nuclear missiles ... And what will happen, I ask you, if suddenly an Il-80 was shot down? Well, they killed the president, they killed the minister of defense, they killed the chief of the General Staff, all of a sudden they shoot down the plane, what will happen then ?! Then generally Hitchcock is resting! A new rocket takes off into the air and flies along a broken path (by the way, like the Rubezh rocket, the greatest creation of Academician Solomonov). And from this rocket, a command is already coming from space to all our nuclear installations for a retaliatory strike. And all this is the development of scientists of the Russian Federation. When I heard about all this, I thought: they must have gone crazy. And they say to me: “Karaulov, you are just a fool. Putin revived everything a long time ago.” Before Putin, before Solomon's missiles, our missiles were mercilessly cut out under the START-1, START-2 treaties. There was a plan to leave almost two missile divisions, and put all the rest under the knife, under the knife, under the knife.

You say that the IL-80 is the most terrible weapon that the Americans are afraid of. But after all, they themselves are conducting military developments ...

The United States has a law: if the enemy's weapons cause unacceptable damage to the American continent, World War III is impossible. The USA is the only country that can start exactly world war, the only country that used nuclear weapons - remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There is no longer a power that can start a world war. But today we are ahead of America in military production for decades to come.

Today, we again produce powerful rockets, starting with the Topol and ending with the old Satan, the Bulava with a sea launch ...

The production of stray launch rockets has been returned. Imagine an ordinary train, the cars are slightly larger than ordinary freight cars, but ... the covers of the car are moved apart, and the beautiful Barguzin rocket flies out. We had four such complexes. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev destroyed them all, put everything under the knife, including a special plant in Perm, which was sold at the price of a two-room apartment in Yasenevo.

Each rocket is a handmade assembly. Everyone can understand: if the Il-80 automatically sends a command to start all the country's rocket launchers, what kind of technology is this! And we did not buy all this from the Americans, just as we did not buy composite materials, this is all our production, our developments. The production of "IL-80" is more than 600 factories and design bureaus in the chain, and these are huge labor collectives, and there are good salaries, average age a worker at the head enterprise of our rocket plant - 38.9 years (in America - more than 50). At the same time, six people per place at the plant, how to get into the institute ... Imagine what kind of specialists there are!

Today the whole world understands: it is in Russia that the technologies of the 21st century are born, in Russia! The best minds in India understand this, the best minds in China, and the best minds in the United States.

Are you sure about the last one?

I want to be reminded of greatest event which passed by the attention of the Russian Federation. In the midst of sanctions, who became an active (not an honorary, but an active!) Member of the American Academy of Sciences, and who was elected unanimously? Who? In New York, who received the mantle of honor? The president Russian Academy Sciences Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov. This is recognition by the best minds of our today's merits.

"IL-80" is impossible to sell, and the technology of which it consists - flight. That will enrich each of us. Behind your back and my back, classified as “top secret”, technologies are being born that will not only feed our country in the future, no, some of these technologies will go into the world markets already in 2016. Because every defense technology has a second purpose - civilian, it has always been that way. The tractor and the tank were created side by side, the workshops were nearby.

So in the 21st century there is no way without us. It's just that Putin, unlike you and me, knows tens of thousands of times more about his country. He knows all our defense plants, in particular, the chemical industry and oil, and other industries ...