Ukraine Copied Russia's Best Attack Drone, And Reportedly Used It To Blow Up A Tu-95 Bomber
The Russian air force may be down to 43 Tu-95s
On July 15, Ukrainian drones motored 500 miles to strike Engels-2 air base in western Russia. (See video below.) At the time, there were reportedly five bombers on the ground at the base: four Tupolev Tu-22Ms and a single Tupolev Tu-95.
The drones reportedly struck the four-engine, propeller-driven Tu-95. “According to preliminary data, the plane suffered critical damage,” the Ukrainian state security service—the vaunted SBU—claimed. “It completely torn off the tail part.”
A 2022 drone raid badly damaged a Tu-95 at Engels-2 back in 2022, potentially leaving no more than 51 intact Tu-95s in the Russian air force inventory. Smuggling tiny drones across Russia in trucks on June 1, 2025, the SBU hit at least seven more Tu-95s as well as four Tu-22Ms, among other aircraft.
After the July 15 raid, the Russians may be down to 43 Tu-95s, only a dozen of which are usually active at any given time.
