The Tupolev Tu-95 (Russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform.

[2] A new requirement was issued to both Tupolev and Myasishchev design bureaus in 1950: the proposed bomber had to have an un-refueled range of 8,000 km (5,000 mi), far enough to threaten key targets in the United States.

Whereas the Tu-95 was originally intended to drop free-falling nuclear weapons, it was subsequently modified to perform a wide range of roles, such as the deployment of cruise missiles, maritime patrol (Tu-142), and even civilian airliner (Tu-114).

[16] In the future, Tu-95MSs are to be upgraded with the SVP-24 sighting and computing system from the Russian company Gefest & T.[17] The second step of the modernisation program is also the most extensive one, and is known as Tu-95MSM.

It includes the installation of the new Novella NV1.021 passive electronically scanned array radar instead of the current Obzor-MS, a new S021 navigation system and the Meteor-NM2 airborne defense complex.

[12] In addition, the aircraft modernized to the "MSM" variant will be equipped with upgraded Kuznetsov NK-12MPM turboprop engines,[13][18] together with new AV-60T propellers, reducing the vibration level by 50%.

[20] The Tu-95RTs variant in particular was a veritable icon of the Cold War as it performed a maritime surveillance and targeting mission for other aircraft, surface ships and submarines.

The footage shows the specially adapted Tu-95V plane – painted with anti-flash white[24] on its ventral surfaces – taking off carrying the bomb, in-flight scenes of the interior and exterior of the aircraft, and the detonation.

[25] The early versions of the bomber omitted crew amenities, with dank and dingy interiors lacking a toilet or a galley.

[25] Though flying the Tu-95 was uncomfortable, especially during the routine 10-hour mission trips twice a week, constant training ensured a high degree of combat readiness and around 1,200 flight-hours annually.

This practice, a result of live ammunition being housed in special bunkers on the bases and a lengthy loading process (done via servicing trench below the bomb bay and taking up to two hours) was seen as a hindrance to overall mission readiness.

[28] In 1992, newly independent Kazakhstan began returning the Tu-95 aircraft of the 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division at Dolon air base to the Russian Federation.

[30] On 17 August 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was resuming strategic aviation flights by sending its bombers on long-range patrols, a practice that had ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[33][34][35][36] Russian Tu-95s reportedly took part in a naval exercise off the coasts of France and Spain in January 2008, alongside Tupolev Tu-22M3 "Backfire" strategic bombers and Beriev A-50 "Mainstay" airborne early-warning aircraft.

[37] During the Russian Stability 2008 military exercise in October 2008, Tu-95MS aircraft fired live air-launched cruise missiles for the first time since 1984.

They flew through the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific oceans as well as the Sea of Japan, covering in total more than 30,000 km (19,000 mi) with four mid-air refuelings.

[39] On 17 November 2015, Tu-95s had their combat debut, being employed for the first time in long-range airstrikes as part of the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War.

[44] On 6 March 2022, according to Ukrainian sources, Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers launched eight cruise missiles, presumably the Kh-101, at the Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport from the Black Sea area.

[45] On 26 June 2022, spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force Yurii Ihnat reported four to six Kh-101 cruise missiles were launched by Tu-95MS and Tu-160s at Kyiv from the Caspian Sea area.

[47] Several other modifications of the basic Tu-95/Tu-142 airframe have existed, but these were largely unrecognized by Western intelligence or never reached operational status in the Soviet military.