On April 2, 2025, a Tu-22M3 supersonic missile carrier bomber, part of the Russian Aerospace Forces, crashed in the Usolsky District of the Irkutsk Region. This was reported by the country's Defense Ministry, confirming the fact of the accident during a scheduled flight. According to preliminary data from the department, the crew managed to leave the plane using catapults, but one of the pilots died. The remaining crew members presumably survived, but their condition has not yet been clarified. Emergency services, including rescuers and military specialists, are working at the crash site to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.

The plane crashed in a hard-to-reach forest area, making it difficult to access the wreckage. The Defense Ministry indicated that a technical malfunction could have been the preliminary cause of the crash. A special commission has already been formed to investigate the incident, which will study the data from the flight recorders and inspect the remains of the aircraft. Local residents reported a strong explosion and subsequent fire that engulfed the crash site. Emergency services quickly began extinguishing the fire, but the dense taiga and remoteness of the area complicate their efforts.

The Tu-22M3 took off from the Belaya airbase in the Usolsky district, home to the 200th Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment. This supersonic bomber, capable of carrying cruise missiles and nuclear weapons, is considered a key element of Russia's strategic aviation. According to the military, the flight was not related to combat missions and was a training mission. However, the accident has once again drawn attention to the condition of the fleet of these aircraft, many of which have been in operation since the 1980s and are facing wear and tear issues.

The incident is the latest in a series of Tu-22M3 crashes in recent years. In April 2024, the same bomber crashed in the Stavropol region. At that time, the Defense Ministry also pointed to a technical failure, and the crew ejected, although one pilot was seriously injured. Another accident occurred in August 2024 in the Irkutsk region, when a Tu-22M3 crashed due to an engine fire. According to RIA Novosti, three of the four crew members survived, but one died in the hospital. These incidents highlight the vulnerability of the aircraft, despite their modernization as part of the Tu-22M3M program, which began in 2018.