Available satellite images show that russians are building at least 17 hangars for Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers at the Engels airbase. The construction of these shelters has been underway for at least a year and began a few days before the start of Operation Spiderweb, which took place on June 1, 2025.
The fact that russia has begun building shelters for its strategic bombers is significant, considering that previously it had concentrated almost exclusively on protecting tactical aircraft. This is reported by The War Zone.
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From Defense Express we would like to note that The aforementioned TWZ article serves as an important reminder that russia is gradually taking steps to improve the protection of its strategic aviation.
In this context, the choice of the Engels airbase appears logical: its location, 700 kilometers from Ukraine's border, makes it one of the most convenient airfields for large-scale strategic strikes against Ukraine. At the same time, this same 700-kilometer distance also makes this facility vulnerable to potential strikes by Ukrainian long-range assets.
Ultimately, construction of shelters at Engels began in April 2025, shortly after a successful Ukrainian long-range UAV strike on a missile depot at the base.
At this time, it is not possible to assess the actual state of readiness of the shelters for the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 at the Engels airbase. The possible specifications of such facilities can be estimated based on the model of a hangar for the Tu-160 that was demonstrated last year to the Minister of Defense of the russian federation Andrey Belousov.
In that case, the project involved a 65-by-60-meter tent-like structure intended to protect large aircraft from the elements and fitted with an automatic fire suppression system.
The size of such a shelter was quite suitable for the Tu-95MS, Tu-160, and Il-78 refueling tankers, but it likely did not provide the necessary level of protection. At the same time, there is currently no clear evidence that russia is following this exact plan in the construction of hangars at Engels.
It can be said that the 17 hangars at the Engels airbase will be able to accommodate up to 25% of the total operational fleet of Tu-160M (up to 18 aircraft) and Tu-95MS (51–55 aircraft, according to various estimates) strategic bombers.
Ivan Kyrychevskiy, serviceman of the Raid 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, Defense Express expert.
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