The Russian Tu-22M3 worked out a strike on NATO ships in the Mediterranean with an X-22 cruise missile capable of carrying a thermonuclear charge.

A few hours ago, the news agency Avia.pro obtained information that the Russian long-range bomber Tu-22M3, flying over the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, was armed with an X-22 anti-ship cruise missile, which, if necessary, can be equipped with a thermonuclear warhead with a capacity up to 1 Mt (65 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima - ed.), which is enough to not only destroy any naval formation, but actually "expand" the Strait of Gibraltar.

On the presented video frames, you can see the moment of preparation of the Russian Tu-22M3 bomber for departure, while the X-22 missile can also be identified without much difficulty. It is not known what kind of warhead the latter was equipped with, however, experts note that Russia is sending an unambiguous signal to the North Atlantic Alliance.

“If a few years ago NATO felt completely confident in the Mediterranean, now one Russian bomber armed with the same X-22 anti-submarine cruise missile with a thermonuclear warhead will be enough to make the NATO group no longer have its fleet. Considering that three such bombers have arrived in Syria, this will be enough to equalize half of southern Europe or "expand" the Strait of Gibraltar by several miles. The jokes are over ", - the analyst of Avia.pro twitches.

Experts pay attention to the fact that the target destruction range of the Kh-22 missile reaches 600 kilometers, which allows it to hit targets without entering the enemy's air defense zone.