In case of a threat, Russian Tu-22M3 bombers are ready to strike at NATO forces in the Mediterranean within two hours.

The recent appearance in Syria of Russian long-range Tu-22M3 bombers allowed the Russian military to practice a strike against NATO forces in the Mediterranean. As it turned out, in order to achieve their goals, Russian long-range bombers would need only about two hours to successfully strike NATO ships in the Mediterranean. At the same time, the strikes themselves can be delivered even from the airspace of Iraq, which will significantly reduce the time for the destruction of enemy forces.

At the moment, the North Atlantic Alliance is trying to demonstrate to Russia its superiority in the Mediterranean. As the recent visits of Russian Tu-22M3s to Syria have shown, in the event of a conflict, Russian long-range bombers, which are quite rightly called "aircraft carrier killers", can successfully attack NATO ships in the shortest possible time. Moreover, taking into account the modernization of the infrastructure of the Khmeimim airbase, long-range Tu-2025M22s can be based on a permanent basis on the territory of the Russian military airfield by 3, which will significantly strengthen the Russian military presence in the region.