On October 19, 2012 Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Engels division performed a successful launch of four air-based cruise missiles. The cruise missiles were reported to have reached their targets at the Pemboy test site.
The launches were apparently part of the exercise of the strategic forces that involved a launch of a R-29R SLBM from the Sea of Okhotsk and a launch of a Topol ICBM from Plesetsk.
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One of the cruise missiles launched by Tu-95 was also shot down by Pantsir-S1 in an interception test.
http://www.ria.ru/arms_news/20121019/904740895.html
I have a question about the conventional weapon-capability of the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers.
The different missile payloads are well-known, but i found only one source on the whole internet about the maximum number of the bombs like FAB-250 or FAB-500.
On the german wikipedia i found the following informations:
Tu-160:
- 64 x FAB-250
- 32 x FAB-500
- 16 x FAB-1000
- 8 x FAB-1500
Tu-95MS:
- 48 x FAB-250
- 12 x FAB-1000
Are these numbers correct?
Where can i find a reliable information about this?
You could try to start from the nominal payload reported in the literature. For example, the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces book lists Tu-160 with the nominal payload of 9 tonnes. This means that your numbers are a bit high. On the other hand the maximum payload of Tu-160 appears to be 40 tonnes, so they may work. The range will be shorter, of course.