Russian Tu-160 hit by lightning during attack on Ukraine and _self-destructed_

Strategic aviation of the Russian occupation forces encountered a series of technical problems during the attack on Ukraine on the night of September 3.

According to the Telegram channel "Dossier Shpiona", which, as stated in its description, is run by an employee of one of the Russian special services, the Tu-160 missile carrier with the tail number "16" was directly struck by lightning , as a result of which it was forced to urgently return to the airfield. Damage to the cockpit glazing is reported.

It is noted that three Russian strategic bombers reportedly failed to launch their missiles due to technical problems. The Tu-160 bomber Ivan Yarygin could not fire its missiles because of a malfunction in the launch mechanism. Another Tu-160, Alexey Plokhov, was struck by lightning during the mission.

It is worth noting that these are not the first incidents involving the occupiers' Tu-160 missile carriers. Last spring, the media reported that the left engine of one of the bombers caught fire while preparing for takeoff , after which the fire spread to the other engines. The plane was seriously damaged. It is noteworthy that a few days before this, this plane was transporting Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to Tatarstan.

So, the failure of two bombers has been interpreted as a possible sign of the Russian defense industry’s difficulties in properly maintaining its strategic fleet. Analysts also suggest that intensive use and the exhaustion of critical components may contribute to such malfunctions.

Militarnyi additionally notes that Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb”—which targeted and destroyed a significant portion of Russia’s strategic aviation—may also be a contributing factor. Recall, the strikes reportedly destroyed or severely damaged 41 aircraft, including A-50 surveillance planes, Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 bombers, as well as An-12 and Il-78 transport and refueling aircraft.

Ukrainian officials estimate the damage at over $7 billion. Many of the aircraft were deemed irreparable, with others expected to require years of restoration.

The operation was carried out using FPV drones equipped with both autonomous artificial intelligence navigation and manual control capabilities.

According to the SBU, some drones were pre-programmed to switch to autonomous mode in the event of signal loss and continue toward their designated targets using AI algorithms. Upon reaching the target, the warheads were automatically triggered. The SBU noted that this was one of its most technically complex drone operations to date, involving the covert transport and deployment of drones deep inside Russian territory.