The Soviet Bomber With a Live Nuclear Reactor... What It Did to Its Crew Was Terrifying

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union modified a Tu-95 strategic bomber to carry a fully operational nuclear reactor. Designated the Tu-95LAL, this highly classified aerospace experiment was designed to create an aircraft with limitless range. However, severe radiation containment failures forced pilots inside a massive forty-ton lead vault. This video explores the declassified engineering files, the structural limits of atomic aviation, and why the military ultimately abandoned the prototype.