Weapons

Russia Developing 3000 KM Cruise Missile For Launch From Tu-160 Strategic Bomber

Russia is developing a cruise missile with a 3000 KM range which would be launched from a modernized version of the Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber and planed for service entry by 2020.

The extremely long range missile development indicates a shift in Russian military philosophy towards long range weapons to reduce the risk of detection and attack from anti-aircraft and anti-attack systems. The success of the cruise missile campaign in Syria where missiles were fired with precision targeting from thousands of kilometres away is believed to fuel this strategic thought.

The ultra-long range cruise missile is being developed by The Russian State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS) whose First Deputy of the General Director and Supervisor of Studies Evgeny Fedosov was quoted as saying about the project by Rossiyskaya Gazeta yesterday.