Tupolev Tu-95MS "Bear-H"

Modern Air Power Series

For a great many years the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has been the mainstay bomber of the US Air Force, and in much the same way the Russian equivalent has been the Tupolev Tu-95. Known to NATO by its reporting name "Bear", the Tu-95 entered Soviet service in 1956. Powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12M turboprop engines that feature contra-rotating propellers, the Bear has a maximum speed of 920km/h and ceiling of 45,000 feet. It has an enormous range of 15,000km without resorting to air-to-air refueling. Based on the Tu-142 airframe, the Tu-95MS bomber that makes up the present-day Russian Air Force bomber fleet is capable of launching long-range Raduga Kh-55 cruise missiles. Indeed, a Kh-55 was fired in 2008 during an exercise, the first time one had been launched in this fashion since 1984!

Built in the 1980s and 1990s, these Tu-95MS aircraft have once again become a truly strategic weapon platform. New enthusiasm was injected into the estimated fleet of 50 aircraft when President Vladimir Putin announced in 2007 that Tu-95 patrols would resume after a 15-year hiatus. The Tu-95MS will continue to serve the modern Russian Air Force until at least 2040 thanks to a continuous series of improvements.

Cyber-Hobby has given Dragon's earlier 1/200 scale kit of the Bear-H a new lease of life. It has been more than a decade since the kit was produced, and many modelers have been waiting years for it to reappear. Their dreams have now been realized! The quality of the molding remains impressive despite the passage of time. The fuselage is accurately shaped and the contra-rotating propellers are finely produced. The kit also includes a bomb payload. Cyber-Hobby provides the Tu-95MS with a brand new set of slide decals made by Cartograf. The Tu-95MS flies again, and modelers will want to "Bear" hug this impressive kit while they still can!

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