Russia modernizes strategic Tu-160M bombers, satellite photos show
Tu-160 strategic bomber (Photo: Getty Images)
Russia regularly displays Tu-160 strategic bombers as a symbol of its nuclear might. But the real picture is much more modest: only seven of the 18 modernized aircraft are used for combat missions against Ukraine, while the rest are in workshops or undergoing testing, according to Defense Blog.
Actual state of the fleet
According to AviVector, an analytical resource that tracks open sources, of the 18 Tu-160Ms, only seven regularly carry out combat sorties — typically taking off from the Ukrainka airbase in the Far East or from the Engels-2 airbase in the Saratov region.
Engels-2 is the main arming point for strikes against Ukraine, and this base has been repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone attacks since 2022.
Another seven to nine aircraft are constantly in the workshops of the Kazan Aviation Production Association at various stages of modernization or new construction.
Modernization is moving slowly
A recently published photo confirmed the completion of the modernization of the Tu-160 with tail number 8-04 Deynekin to the M standard. The work took about five years. In total, six modernized Tu-160Ms and three new Tu-160M2s have been confirmed.
Photo: satellite images of the Borisoglebsk airfield (x.com/i/flow)
Russia announced the resumption of Tu-160 production back in the mid-2010s, and the new production facility in Kazan was under construction from 2020 and appears to have only become operational in early 2026. The pace of new production remains unknown.
What this means
The fleet is simultaneously fighting, undergoing modernization, and trying to establish new production — all at the same facility. At the same time, only seven aircraft can actually be in combat at any one time.
Earlier, information appeared online that Russia is allegedly developing a ground-launched version of the Kh-101 cruise missiles — the same ones used by Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft to strike Ukraine.
Whether Russian forces can actually adapt these missiles for ground launch, and what such a possibility actually indicates, can be read in the RBC-Ukraine article.
Previously, the Financial Times wrote that Russia had modernized its Iskander and Kinzhal missiles to bypass the Ukrainian Patriot air defense system. According to the publication, the upgraded missiles had already seriously damaged drone production facilities and critical infrastructure in the fall of 2025.
