Soviet Union Tomcat aircraft. The two prototypes Tu-22M(0) were delivered to
Long Range Aviation's 42nd Combat Training Centre at
Dyagilevo air base, near
Ryazan, in February 1973. The aircraft began practice sorties in March. Within 20 days of the aircraft's delivery, the air and ground crew at the air base had received their type ratings; this was helped by their earlier training at Tupolev, the
Gromov Flight Research Institute and the Kazan plant. In June that year, the aircraft were demonstrated to Soviet government officials, destroying tanks and
armoured personnel carriers. In June 1981, four Tu-22Ms were intercepted and photographed by Norwegian aircraft flying over the
Norwegian Sea. The first simulated attack by the Tu-22M against a NATO
carrier group occurred between 30 September and 1 October 1982. Eight aircraft locked onto the U.S. task forces of
USS Enterprise and
USS Midway which were operating in the North Pacific. They came within of the task forces. The reaction of the U.S. Navy was thought to have been restrained during this event so as to allow the observation of the Tu-22M's tactics. The bomber also made attempts to test Japan's air defense boundary on several occasions. anti-ship missile under a Tupolev Tu-22M(0) The Tu-22M was first used in combat in
Afghanistan. It was deployed December 1987 to January 1988, during which the aircraft flew strike missions in support of the
Soviet Army's attempt to relieve the
Mujahideens'
Siege of Khost. Two squadrons of aircraft from the 185th GvBAP based at
Poltava were deployed to Maryy-2 air base in
Turkmenistan. Capable of dropping large tonnages of conventional ordnance, the aircraft bombed enemy forts, bases and material supplies. In October 1988, the aircraft was again deployed against the Mujahideen. Sixteen Tu-22M3s were used to provide cover to Soviet forces that were pulling out of the country. The Tu-22Ms were tasked with destroying paths of access to Soviet forces, attacking enemy forces at night to prevent regrouping, and to attack incoming supplies from Iran and Pakistan. Working alongside 30 newly arrived
MiG-27s, the aircraft also flew missions aimed at relieving the besieged city of
Kandahar. The aircraft had its last Afghan operation in January 1989 at Salang pass. The Tu-22M suffered from widespread maintenance problems due to poor manufacturing quality during its service with the Soviet forces. The engines and airframes in particular had short service lives. The Air Force at one point sought to prosecute Tupolev for allegedly rushing the inadequate designs of the Tu-22M and the Tu-160 into service. This was compounded by the government bureaucracy, which hampered the provision of spare parts to allow the servicing of the Tu-22M. With some aircraft grounded for up to six months, the mission-capable rate of the aircraft in August 1991 was around 30–40%.
Russia At the time of the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, 370 remained in
Commonwealth of Independent States service. Production ended in 1993. The Russian Federation used the Tu-22M3 in combat in
Chechnya during 1995, performing strikes near
Grozny. In August 2007, the Tu-22M and the
Tu-95 began conducting long-range patrolling, for the first time since 1992. On 9 August 2008, a Russian Tu-22MR reconnaissance aircraft was shot down in
South Ossetia by a Georgian air defence
Buk-M1 surface-to-air-missile system during the 5–day
Russo-Georgian War. One of its crew members was captured (Major Vyacheslav Malkov), two others were killed and the crew commander, Lt. Col. Aleksandr Koventsov, was
missing in action. In February 2013, Tu-22Ms simulated a strike on a US
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System cruiser and ground-based radar in Japan. This was speculated as the
AN/TPY-2 transportable radar of the US
10th Missile Defence Battery in
Shariki, Aomori. On 29 March 2013, two Tu-22M3 bombers flying in international airspace made a simulated attack on Sweden. The Swedish air defense failed to respond. Two Tu-22Ms flew supersonic over
the Baltic Sea on 24 March 2015. Two Tu-22Ms approached
Öland in international airspace on 21 May 2015. The
Swedish Air Force sent two
Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters to mark their presence. On 4 July 2015, two Tu-22Ms approached the Swedish island of
Gotland without violating its airspace, followed by Swedish and other fighter aircraft. In 2014, Russian aerospace expert Piotr Butowski estimated there were seven squadrons of Tu-22Ms in service, each with approximately 10 aircraft, stationed at three airbases; 40 at
Belaya airbase in southeastern
Siberia, 28 at
Shaykovka airbase southwest of Moscow, and 10 at Dyagilevo airbase in Ryazan southeast of Moscow which serves as the training unit for the bomber.
Syrian Civil War Since late January 2017, six Tu-22M3s resumed airstrikes in the area of Deir ez-Zor to prevent capture of the city by jihadists and again in late 2017 to
support a government offensive. 22–31 January 2016, Tu-22M3s reportedly conducted 42 sorties performing airstrikes in the vicinity of
Deir ez-Zor. On the morning of 12 July 2016, six Tu-22M3 bombers carried out a concentrated attack around
Palmyra,
Al-Sukhnah and
Arak. On 14 July, six Tu-22M3 bombers operating from airfields in Russia delivered another massive strike on the newly detected IS facilities in the areas east of Palmyra, as well as in Al-Sukhnah, Arak, and the T-3 oil pumping station in the province of
Homs. New raids were conducted on 21 July, 8 August, 11 August, and 14 August 2016. On 16 August 2016, the bombers began to fly missions in Syria using Iran's
Hamedan Airbase. at Shaykovka air base near Kirov, Kaluga Oblast in 2017 after deployment in Syria In November 2017, six Tu-22M3s resumed airstrikes in the area of Deir ez-Zor to support a government offensive. On December 12, 2017, a fleet of Tu-22M3 bombers arrived back from Syria at
Shaykovka air base near
Kirov, Kaluga Oblast, where
lieutenant general and long-range-aviation commander
Sergey Kobylash awarded crews with the
medal "Participant of the military operation in Syria". In May 2021, three Tu-22Ms were temporarily deployed to the Khmeymim airbase in Syria. Tu-22Ms were again deployed in eastern Mediterranean in June of the same year for large RF Navy and Air Force drills.
Invasion of Ukraine On 15 April 2022, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry stated Russia had used Tu-22M3 bombers for the first time since the start of its
invasion of Ukraine, to strike targets in
Mariupol. It had earlier been reported that
FAB-3000M-46 dumb bombs had been reactivated in Russia for use with Tu-22M3 bombers to strike targets at the
Azovstal iron and steel works plant that became the last bastion for Ukrainian troops in the
besieged city of Mariupol. On 11 May 2022, a video emerged on social media showing a Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-22M3 bomber launching two Kh-22 missiles at targets somewhere in Ukraine. On 5 December 2022, a
Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-22M3 bomber, identified as
RF-34110, was shown damaged as a result of a long-range drone attack by the
Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Dyagilevo air base. Images on social media showed at least the engine outputs and the trailing edge of the stabilizers damaged. On 20 August 2023, the Russian government confirmed a drone attack on an airbase in Novgorod and
BBC News subsequently published verified images of a Tu-22M3 engulfed in flames at
Soltsy air base, Russia, which had been attacked by drones on the day before. According to Ukraine, one Tu-22M3 was destroyed, and two were disabled, in an operation of a Ukrainian intelligence unit led by
Oleh Babiy in August 2023. During the
29 December 2023 Russian strikes on Ukraine and other attacks, some 300 Kh-22 missiles have been launched at Ukraine by Russian forces, all by Tu-22M bombers. None have been shot down by Ukrainian forces, although it is suggested that Russia has been targeting areas where there are no
MIM-104 Patriot or
SAMP/T missile batteries. On 19 April 2024, a Russian Tu-22M3 crashed near
Stavropol, over 450 km of distance from the nearest Ukrainian controlled territory as of the time of the event. Ukraine claimed to have shot down the long-range strategic bomber about 300 km from Ukraine as it was reportedly trying to return to base after a combat sortie. Russian authorities claimed the aircraft crashed in
Krasnogvardeysky District due to a technical malfunction, killing one crew member, with another missing. A source claimed that Ukraine's
Main Directorate of Intelligence had planned and executed the downing with a
S-200 missile, the same type of missile Ukraine claimed to have shot down a
Beriev A-50 in February 2024. If confirmed, it would be Ukraine's first downing of a Tu-22M in the air. Ukraine "likely destroyed" one Tu-22M at an airbase in
Novgorod Oblast in August 2023, using drones. HUR drones struck the
Olenya air base in
Murmansk Oblast, some 1,800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, damaging two Tu-22M3s. A Ukrainian spokesman said, "We can confirm the damage to two Tu-22M3 aircraft. We are talking about aircraft No. 33 and No. 31. No. 33 has holes in the upper part of the fuselage, and aircraft No. 31 also has some body damage." On 31 March 2025, Ukrainian drones destroyed Kh-22 missiles at Shaykovka air base according to satellite imagery. Ukrainian military commander
Oleksandr Syrskyi said that a drone managed to destroy a Tu-22M3 after it landed. General Syrskyi said it was valued at $100 million. On 1 June 2025, at least four Tu-22M3 bombers were destroyed in the
Operation Spiderweb attack at Belaya Air Base near
Irkutsk.
Export The Tupolev company has sought export customers for the Tu-22M since 1992, with possible customers including Iran, India and the People's Republic of China, but no sales have apparently been made. Unlike the Tu-22 bomber, Tu-22Ms were not exported to Middle East countries. During 1999, India reportedly signed a lease-to-buy contract for four Tu-22M aircraft for maritime reconnaissance and strike purposes, which were to enter IAF service in 2001. At the time, the aircraft were to be delivered with Kh-22 cruise missiles. As of 2023 there is no evidence of operation or acquisition by the Indian Air Force. ==Variants==