Russian Tu-95MS Bear Bomber Crashes In The Far East During Training Exercise

A Russian Tu-95MS Bear strategic bomber crashed in the Khabarovsk region in the country’s Far East during a training exercise, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday. The Tu-95MS is a large, four-engine strategic bomber and missile platform, which entered service with the Soviet Union in 1956, and is expected to be part of the Russian air force until at least 2040.

“On July 14 at 9.50 a.m. Moscow time [2:50 a.m. EDT] the Tu-95MS aircraft crashed while performing a scheduled training flight some 80 kilometers [50 miles] from Khabarovsk. The crew ejected,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the defense ministry as saying.

The aircraft was not carrying any ammunition allowance -- meaning it was unarmed -- when it crashed in a deserted area in Khabarovsk. A source told TASS that the crash occurred because three of the plane's propulsion systems failed. Khabarovsk lies nearly 500 miles north of the eastern city of Vladivostok..........

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