A Russian Tu-22M3 crashed outside of Stavropol, Russia, earlier today. Russians say it experienced a technical failure whereas Ukrainian sources say it was shot down.
A video circulated online early in the morning (European Time) on Apr. 19, 2024, shows a Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber, falling towards the ground in a flat spin with its back in fire.
The incident occurred near Stavropol, in southwestern Russia.
As usual, there are contradicting reports about the causes of the crash: according to the Russian MOD, the Backfire experienced an engine fire that eventually led to the crash.
The downed Russian Tu-22M3 this morning was reportedly returning from a strike mission on Ukraine when it crashed outside of Stavropol.
Additional footage of the falling Russian bomber. https://t.co/7t00lEDauG pic.twitter.com/VpRcwJmsKZ
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 19, 2024
The crew members ejected from the Tu-22: reportedly, two were rescued, one was killed and one is still missing.
Of the four Russian Air Force crew onboard the downed Tu-22M bomber –
2 rescued
1 dead
1 missing— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) April 19, 2024
According to the Ukrainians, the Tu-22 was returning from an air strike on Ukraine and was shot down in cooperation by the Ukrainian Air Force and the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
During tonight’s Missile Attack against Ukraine, a Tu-22M3 “Backfire” Strategic Bomber with the Russian Aerospace Forces reportedly Crashed in the Stavropol Krai Region of Southwestern Russia following a Technical Malfunction; Russian Sources are claiming that both of the Pilots… pic.twitter.com/vCkz6GoDmY
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 19, 2024
A video was later posted by the GUR allegedly showing the command post of the unit that allegedly shot down the Backfire bomber.
💥 Внаслідок операції ГУР у взаємодії з Повітряними силами знищено бомбардувальник Ту-22МЗ, який сьогодні запускав ракети по Україні
🔗 https://t.co/fjbRPgZXCt pic.twitter.com/RbeeloHPsp
— Defence intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) April 19, 2024
According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the Tu-22M3 was shot down at a distance of about 300 kilometers from Ukraine “by the same means” that were previously used to shoot down the Russian A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft. As a result of the damage, the bomber was able to fly to the Stavropol region, where it crashed.
If confirmed as a “kill” by the Ukrainian Air Defense, this would be the first successful downing of a Russian strategic bomber since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The Tu-22M3 Backfire
The Tu-22M is a twin-engine supersonic bomber with variable geometry swept wings. The Tu-22M3 and M3M variants are in wide service in Russia, with over 80 reported in flying with the Russian Air Force and more than 40 in use with Russian Naval Aviation as long-range maritime patrol, surveillance and attack aircraft. Indeed, the aircraft was primarily developed as an anti-ship missile carrier for the Soviet/Russian supersonic Kh-22/32 anti-ship missiles with range of up to 1,000 km (621 miles) as well as for smaller Kh-15 missiles with range of up to 300 km (160 miles).
The Tu-22M3’s crew consists of four members. Two pilots seated side-by-side in front (pilot on the left and co-pilot on the right) and the navigator (right) and weapons system officer (left) seated to their rear. All crew members have KT-1M (Kreslo Tupoleva, “Tupolev’s seat”) ejection seats connected within the ASS (automatic rescue system). A minimum speed of 130km/h (81 mph) is required for safe ejection at altitudes below 60m (200ft) according to “Russia’s Warplanes Vol. 2”, by Piotr Butowski (although our sources state that 140km/h is the minimum speed).
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
