Russia is “burying” its strategic nuclear bombers

After several successful attacks with Ukrainian drones, Moscow is trying to protect its strategic bomber fleet. This is a sign of the definitive collapse of a fundamental Russian military doctrine: “rear security”.

Russia is building, at the Engels air base, huge protective shelters to protect your bombers of the deadly swarm drone attacks with which Ukraine has wreaked havoc on the Russian rear.

Engineering teams from the Russian armed forces began, in April 2025, to build at least 17 colossal hangarsabout 480 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The structures were designed specifically to house the precious bombers Tu-160 Blackjack e Tu-95MS Bear-Haircraft that constitute the nucleus of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division.

This is a sign of definitive collapse of a military doctrine foundation of Russia: the rear securitysays .

For decades, Russian strategists assumed that bases located hundreds of kilometers from the front They were untouchable sanctuaries. Now, the vacancy swarms of cheap, autonomous drones forced Moscow to accept that even its most distant runways are already in the first line of combat.

This vulnerability is a global problem: Recently, a swarm of drones bypassed the security of the US Barksdale air base and exposed its B-52s.

But Russia faces real attacks that have already destroyed planesequipment and installations valued at billions of euros. As ZAP reported a year ago, the Operation Spiderweb hit Russian air bases far from the Ukrainian border, including Belaya in Siberia, more than 4,000 kilometers from Ukraine, and will have .

The impact of Operation Spiderweb

The construction of these shelters is a consequence of the devastating Operation Spiderweb, launched in June 2025.

After 18 months of planning, agents from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) managed to clandestinely introduce 117 drones explosives throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, hidden in wooden boxes on board conventional goods trucks.

After escape Russian securityvehicles traveled thousands of kilometers to position the boxes and launch synchronized attacks within walking distance of the military bases of Diaguilevo, Ivanovo, Belaia and Olenia.

On offense disabled 34% of the total Russian bomber fleet with the capacity to launch cruise missiles, causing damage estimated at around 7 billion dollars.

The swarm hit 41 aircraft and completely destroyed between 10 and 13 devicesincluding Tu-22M3 bombers, Il-78 air tankers and the rare A-50 airborne early warning planes, equivalent to the US AWACS.

Russian authorities then stated that the devices would be repaired, but the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskystated at the time that half of the fleet hit in Operation Spiderweb was totally irrecoverable.

Replacing a supersonic machine like the Tu-160 is almost impossiblesince its manufacturing lines are closed decades ago or operate at an exasperatingly slow pace.

A new war economy is based on financial asymmetry extreme in favor of the side with fewer resources. According to the military analyst Benjamin Jensen“the economic advantages of the Ukrainian approach are clear.”

“While a drone, a lithium battery and a warhead cost well under 3,000 dollars, the cost of one is around 250 million dollars”, notes Jensen.

When the attack was carried out, the huge profitability of the operation took the NATO admiral Pierre Vandier classifying it as a reinvention of the “Trojan Horse method”, based on “technical and industrial creativity”.

Shortly afterwards, the Atlantic Alliance called for a immediate increase of 400% in global financing for anti-aircraft defense.

Before that, Russian commandos resorted to visual tricks to defend their expensive planes. They painted fake silhouettes of bombers on the asphalt and stacked tires on the wings to confuse the drones’ optical sensors. These desperate measuresturned out to be completely useless.

In January 2025, a Ukrainian airstrike sparked a fire at Engels’ fuel depots that Russian commandos described as “huge“.

Just two months later, another drone directly hit an ammunition depot on the same base, demonstrating that the corrugated iron hangars used to hide aircraft They are practically useless.

These drones are lethal because they are extremely difficult to interceptas Ukrainian troops have repeatedly demonstrated against Russia and Iranian forces against the US.

The drones operate on so-called “air coasts”an atmospheric band situated just above ground combat but far below traditional fighter flight altitudes. By flying close to trees using live video, Ukrainian devices are able to bypass conventional radar systems without much difficulty.

For Russia, the The era of leaving the fleet exposed to the elements has come to an end. The Engels base is being hastily transformed into a fortified complex. It shouldn’t be long before the US and other NATO countries do the same.