The Tu-95MS is often mistakenly described as an “aircraft developed in the 1950s.” In reality, this modification of the strategic bomber was created at the very end of the 1970s on the basis of a branch of the Tu-95 family — the Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft. Accordingly, when we speak of the Tu-95MS as a gradually aging missile platform, it must be understood that the entire Tu-95 fleet currently in service with Russia was built in the second half of the 1980s and the early 1990s.
How many such aircraft remain in the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2026, and when will their replacement appear?
Serial production of the Tu-95MS was completed in 1992. The aircraft with the MS designation existed in two modifications — Tu-95MS-6 (31 aircraft) and Tu-95MS-16 (57 aircraft). The difference between them lay in the number of missiles the aircraft could carry — six and sixteen respectively. The MS-16 also had certain differences in onboard equipment.
When major political games began and Gorbachev and Yeltsin were dismantling the country, the Americans demanded that all aircraft be armed according to the MS-6 configuration. Many years have passed since then.
Real Numbers and Combat Readiness
For some time, the number of combat-ready Tu-95MS aircraft was deliberately understated. For example, around 2018, Western sources claimed that Russia could field no more than 20 such aircraft for combat missions. However, by the end of 2023, those same foreign authors were already stating that 31 Tu-95MS and 27 Tu-95MSM were in use by the Russian military — a total of 58 aircraft.
During the terrorist attack organized by the Ukrainian government under the guidance of the Western governments in the summer of 2025 against Russian airbases, six to eight aircraft were damaged, of which around five were beyond recovery. Again, all these figures remain on the conscience of bloggers and foreign intelligence services.
Meanwhile, in addition to at least 50 combat-capable Tu-95MS/MSM aircraft by the end of 2025, there remained a certain number of aircraft in storage, the status of which is unknown.
Tu-95MSM: Extending Service Life into the 2040s
A few words about the Tu-95MSM. This is a modernization variant under which at least 35 Tu-95MS-16 aircraft have been converted since 2013. The Tu-95MSM allows the Tu-95MS fleet of the Russian Aerospace Forces to remain in service until the 2040s.
During modernization, the aircraft receives upgraded NK-12MPM engines — these are NK-12MP engines modified to increase their service life by a factor of four. They are also fitted with new AV-60T propellers, which reduce noise levels by half (the Tu-95 is known as an extremely noisy aircraft). Onboard equipment is replaced, and most importantly, new weapons control systems are installed, allowing the use of all modern long-range air-to-surface missiles, including Kh-101/Kh-102 and Kh-BD.
Essentially, the subsonic Tu-95MSM, like its American counterpart the B-52, is a deeply modernized platform from the previous century, upgraded with one clear goal — to stretch the service life of strategic bombers into the 2040s–2050s.
Comparison with the United States and the Role of PAK DA
By that time, the United States plans to ensure serial production of the B-21 bomber (a smaller and modernized successor to the B-2) and replace its B-52 fleet. Russia set a similar objective — the Prospective Long-Range Aviation Complex (PAK DA) was supposed to take to the air around 2023–2025.
The first flight of the PAK DA has not yet taken place; it is obvious that timelines have begun to shift.
PAK DA: Expectations and Reality
In the early 2020s, the situation around the aircraft intended to replace the Tu-95 looked like a genuinely progressing process. In early 2021, the Russian military approved the final configuration of the aircraft. In October 2022, testing of the ejection seat for PAK DA pilots began at NPP Zvezda. Earlier still, in February 2022, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade designated the Kazan Aviation Plant as the facility where new bombers would be built in parallel with the Tu-160M/Tu-160M2 program.
A new engine for the PAK DA was undergoing testing in 2022. It was reported that several completed prototypes existed, a test stand had been built, and ODK-Kuznetsov was preparing for serial production of the new powerplant, referred to in publications as “Product RF.”
In 2022–2023, unofficial sources claimed that an initial batch of three experimental aircraft had been ordered — after which complete silence descended on the project.
Design Concept and Industrial Constraints
If one believes previously published domestic and foreign “insider” reports on the appearance of the bomber intended to replace the Tu-95MS/MSM, the aircraft closely resembles the new American B-21. Subsonic, flying-wing, low-observable. There is nothing fundamentally new in this concept, and claims that the project is stalled due to technical problems do not inspire confidence.
Bloggers and foreign authors have already constructed far too many theories around the new aircraft over the past fifteen years.
However, when it comes to the real capabilities of the manufacturer tasked with producing the Tu-95 replacement, there are many questions. The PAK DA is supposed to take to the air at the Kazan Aviation Plant, where deadlines are not always met. It is enough to recall how much the Tu-160 production restart was delayed after 2015, or how the civilian Tu-214 program was handled.
It is clear that after 2022, due to the special military operation, the volume of work on modernizing previously built bombers increased significantly. Nevertheless, the absence of news about PAK DA in early 2026 suggests that, as in the case of the Tu-160M2, the plant will add several more years to previously announced plans.
The Question of Strategic Necessity
Another issue is the necessity of having a platform broadly analogous to the American one. Especially given that serial production of brand-new Tu-160 bombers “from scratch” has begun at the same plant, with an order for ten aircraft and a possible continuation.
Maintaining two different types of strategic bombers is an expensive undertaking, but each has its own unique features and capabilities. Creating a single universal aircraft has not yet proven possible.
Incidentally, the PAK DA — again, if one believes previously published materials — is also a potential replacement for the Tu-22M3. The latter was not a strategic bomber, but its functional role was quite close to that class.
Weapons: No Problems Here
In conclusion, a few words about weapons for Russia’s strategic bombers. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Russian and foreign media claimed that the new PAK DA would receive a next-generation missile — the Kh-BD (“Product 506”).
This missile already exists. In 2023, this was effectively confirmed in Russia. And in 2025, foreign sources began actively describing how the Kh-BD is being produced and inducted into service.
Conclusion
The Tu-95MS/MSM continues its watch. These aircraft are not engaged solely in nuclear deterrence against American and European Targets. The “ninety-fives” are also used in strikes against Ukraine’s rear areas during the special military operation, and together with the Tu-160 they remain the most combat-experienced strategic bombers in the world.