Another russian Tu-22M3 long-range supersonic bomber crashed in russia's Irkutsk region for reasons that remain unclear. It is currently unknown whether the crew survived after potentially using the aircraft's ejection system.
It is worth noting that this marks the third Tu-22M3 crash in Irkutsk region since the start of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The region hosts the Belaya Air Base, one of the main operating locations for this bomber type. One Tu-22M3 crashed there in 2024, another in 2025, and now a third in 2026.
Read more: russian Tu-22M3 Bomber Crashes in Irkutsk Region During Training Flight (Video)
Looking at the broader picture, russia's Tu-22M3 fleet has suffered a long list of losses and damage since February 2022:
- December 2022, three Tu-22M3 bombers damaged at Dyagilevo Air Base.
- August 2023, one Tu-22M3 destroyed and two damaged at Soltsy Air Base.
- April 2024, one Tu-22M3 shot down by the Armed Forces of Ukraine using an S-200 air-defense missile over russia's Stavropol region.
- July 2024, two Tu-22M3 bombers damaged at Olenya Air Base.
- August 2024, one Tu-22M3 crashed in Irkutsk region.
- April 2025, another Tu-22M3 crashed in Irkutsk region.
- June 2025, during the Security Service of Ukraine's (SSU) Operation Spiderweb, 12 Tu-22M3 bombers were reportedly destroyed at Olenya, Belaya, and Dyagilevo air bases.
- June 2026, another Tu-22M3 crashed in Irkutsk region.
This brings the total number of destroyed or damaged Tu-22M3 bombers since 2022 to 24 aircraft.
This figure is particularly significant because russia has not produced any version of the Tu-22 since 1993. Moreover, there is currently no replacement aircraft planned for the foreseeable future. Spare parts are increasingly scarce, meaning that even relatively minor damage can result in an aircraft being permanently written off.
The key question, therefore, is how many Tu-22M3 bombers russia actually had in operational condition at the start of the full-scale invasion, and how many might still remain combat-capable today.
According to The Military Balance 2025, russia had 55 Tu-22M3 bombers listed in service as of February 2025. Since then, however, russia has reportedly lost another 14 aircraft through crashes and Operation Spiderweb.
On paper, this would leave russia with approximately 41 Tu-22M3 bombers.
However, the official inventory figure does not necessarily reflect operational reality. A significant portion of these aircraft are believed to be non-flyable, while some have been cannibalized for spare parts but continue to appear in inventory records.
To estimate the number of truly operational aircraft, it is useful to revisit comments made by the then-head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, following the strike on Soltsy Air Base in 2023.
At that time, Budanov stated that russia had 27 operational Tu-22M3 bombers, with another two undergoing repairs after the attack. Based on that assessment, russia may have had approximately 33–34 combat-ready Tu-22M3 aircraft at the beginning of the full-scale war.
If one assumes that all Tu-22M3 bombers hit during Ukrainian operations on the ground were operational aircraft and that damaged bombers could not be restored to service, russia may now possess only 9–10 operational Tu-22M3 bombers.
Under that scenario, russia would have lost more than 70% of its combat-ready Tu-22M3 fleet since 2022.
Regardless of the exact figure, russia has undoubtedly lost a substantial portion of its Tu-22M3 force. As noted above, these losses are effectively irreplaceable. The only remaining option appears to be limited modernization efforts using Soviet-era airframes stored for decades, which russia is attempting to convert into the upgraded Tu-22M3M variant.
Read more: How Ukraine Used Tu-141 Strizh to Strike russian Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 Strategic Bombers
