The upgraded Tu-95MSM missile carrier successfully completed a test flight

Work on the modernization of this vessel is being carried out at PJSC Tupolev and PJSC Beriev TANTK (part of PJSC UAC of Rostec State Corporation), the company's press service said.

Aircraft designers are improving the characteristics of the Tu-95MSM in order to get a more modern missile carrier with increased performance and reliability of the missile carrier. The UAC clarified that the upgraded Tu-95MSM is a new modification of the world's fastest turboprop aircraft, the Tu-95MS missile carrier.

Recall that these aircraft are involved in a military special operation. They are used to launch long-range cruise missiles at military facilities and critical infrastructure of the enemy.

The production of Tu-95 series bombers began in the middle of the last century. The leadership of the USSR, fearing a nuclear threat from the United States, commissioned the development of bombers with a high flight range. At that time, the Soviet army had no ships in service that could reach the American continent. The first prototype was released in 1952. Since 1957, these bombers have been adopted by the Russian Air Force.

In the following years, dozens of upgraded aircraft of this series were produced. The first Tu-95MSM missile carrier was ready in the fall of 2015. It is an upgraded Tu-95MS-16 with replacement of engines and propellers, a new navigation computer system, integrated control and information display systems, and an astrogation system.In 2010, the Tu-95 series aircraft set a world record for non-stop flight, spending 43 hours in the air, flying about 30 thousand kilometers over three oceans and refueling four times in the air.