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Russian Strategic Tu-160 Bombers Malfunction, Fail to Launch Missiles During Massive Ukraine Strike
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![Photo of Liubava Petriv]( "Photo of Liubava Petriv")
During the large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine on the night of September 2–3, three Russian strategic bombers reportedly failed to launch their missiles due to technical problems.
According to Militarnyi, citing the Telegram channel Dossier Spy, the Tu-160 bomber Ivan Yarygin (tail number 04) could not fire its missiles because of a malfunction in the launch mechanism. Another Tu-160, Alexey Plokhov (tail number 16), was struck by lightning during the mission, damaging the cockpit glazing and forcing the crew to abort the flight and return to base.
A third aircraft, of an unspecified type, reportedly failed to take off from Engels Airbase. The cause of the malfunction remains unknown.
The failure of two bombers has been interpreted as a possible sign of the Russian defense industry’s difficulties in properly maintaining its strategic fleet. Analysts also suggest that intensive use and the exhaustion of critical components may contribute to such malfunctions.
Militarnyi additionally notes that Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb”—which targeted and destroyed a significant portion of Russia’s strategic aviation—may also be a contributing factor.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine appears to have integrated its domestically developed glide bomb kit—known locally as a KAB—onto the MiG-29 fighter jet, which remains a backbone of the country’s Air Force flee.
