 The Tu-95 bombers were designed to carry much lighter and smaller weapons (at maximum 27 tons "after" modernization), meaning the Tsar Bomba was too big to be placed on a missile and too heavy for the planes to transport it to the target with enough fuel.Taking off from the Olenya airfield in the Kola Peninsula, the release plane was accompanied by a Tu-16 observer plane that took air samples and filmed the test.Both aircraft were painted with the special reflective paint to minimize heat damage.