The Tupolev Tu-160 (Russian: Туполев Ту-160, NATO reporting name Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-geometry heavy bomber designed by the Soviet Union. It is similar in configuration to the B-1 Lancer but is significantly faster at altitude, with greater range and payload capacity.
Introduced in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber designed by the Soviet Union but remains in production, with at least 16 currently in service with the Russian Air Force.
Pilots of the Tu-160 call it the “White Swan”, due to its manoeuverability and antiflash white finish.[1]
Although several civil and military transport aircraft are bigger, the Tu-160 has the greatest total thrust, and the heaviest takeoff weight of any combat aircraft, and the highest top speed as well as one of the largest payloads of any heavy bomber.
Development
The first competition for a supersonic strategic heavy bomber was launched in the Soviet Union in 1967. The new plane was to have a cruise speed of over Mach 3, in response to the American XB-70 Valkyrie. It soon became apparent that such an aircraft would be too expensive and difficult to produce, so it was decided to reduce demands (in the US, the XB-70 project had already been cancelled).
In 1972, the Soviet Union launched a new multi-mission bomber competition to create a new supersonic, variable-geometry ("swing-wing") heavy bomber with a maximum speed of Mach 2.3, in response to the US Air Force B-1 bomber project. The Tupolev design, dubbed Aircraft 160M, with a lengthened flying wing layout and incorporating some elements of the Tu-144, competed against the Myasishchev M-18 and the Sukhoi T-4 designs.citation needed Myasishchev's version, proposing a variable-geometry aircraft, was considered to be the most successful, although the Tupolev organization was regarded as having the greatest potential for completing this complex project. Consequently, Tupolev was assigned in 1973 the development of a new aircraft based on the Myasishchev design.
Although the B-1A was cancelled in 1977, work on the new Soviet bomber continued, and in the same year, the design was accepted by the government committee. The prototype was photographed by an airline passenger at a Zhukovsky Airfield in November 1981, about a month before the aircraft's first flight on 18 December 1981. Production was authorized in 1984, beginning at Kazan Aviation Association. Production of the aircraft, designated Tu-160 (factory designation "aircraft K" or "product 70"), was originally intended to total 100 aircraft, although only 35 have been produced, including three prototypes. The second prototype was lost in flight testing in 1987, the crew ejecting successfully. Production slowed due to lack of funds, and ceased in 1994, although uncompleted aircraft still remain in good condition and could be completed if orders and funding are put through.citation needed
Description
Soviet officers in front of a Tu-160 bomber aircraft.
The Tu-160 bears a strong resemblance to the North American Rockwell B-1A Lancer, although it is significantly larger and has greater range. The Blackjack has a blended wing profile and variable-geometry wings, with sweep selectable from 20° to 65°. Full-span slats are used on the leading edges, with double-slotted flaps on the trailing edges. The Tu-160 has a fly-by-wire control system.
The Tu-160 is powered by four Kuznetsov NK-321 afterburning turbofan engines, the most powerful ever fitted to a combat aircraft. Unlike the B-1B, which abandoned the Mach 2+ requirement of the original B-1A, it retains variable intakes, and is capable of reaching speeds slightly higher than Mach 2 at altitude.
The Tu-160 is equipped with a probe and drogue in-flight refueling system for extended-range missions, although it is rarely used. The Tu-160's massive internal fuel capacity of 130 tons gives the aircraft a roughly 15-hour flight endurance at a cruise speed of around 530 mph (850 km/h, Mach 0.77) at 30,000 ft (9,145 m).[2]
Although the Tu-160 was designed for reduced detectability to both radar and infrared, it is not a stealth aircraft. Russian sources claim that it has a smaller radar cross section (RCS) than the B-1B.citation needed Nevertheless, on 25 April 2006 Commander Igor Khvorov claimed that Tu-160s had managed to penetrate the US Arctic zone undetected, leading to a NATO investigation.[3] [4][5]
The Tu-160 has an Obzor-K attack radar in a slightly upturned dielectric radome, and a separate "Sopka" terrain-following radar, which provides fully automatic terrain-following flight at low altitude. The Tu-160 has an electro-optical bombsight. Its electronic warfare suite includes comprehensive active and passive ECM systems.
The Tu-160 has a crew of four (pilot, co-pilot, weapons systems officer and defensive systems operator) in K-36DM ejection seats. The pilot has a fighter-style control stick, but the flight instruments are traditional "steam gauge" dials. A crew rest area, a toilet, and a galley are provided for long flights. There is no HUD, nor are CRT multi-function displays provided in the original aircraft; however, plans for modernization of all Tu-160s were announced in 2003. They include a new digital flight control system, and the ability to carry new weapon types, such as new non-nuclear long-range cruise missiles.
Weapons are carried in two internal bays, each capable of holding 20,000 kg (44,400 lb) of free-fall weapons or a rotary launcher for nuclear missiles; additional missiles may also be carried externally. The aircraft's payload capacity is 45,000kg, making it the heaviest bomber ever built. However no defensive weapons are provided; the Tu-160 is the first unarmed post-World War II Soviet bomber.
A demilitarized, commercial version of the Tu-160, dubbed Tu-160SK, was displayed at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in 1994 with a model of a small space vehicle named Burlak attached underneath the fuselage. In 1995 Tupolev announced a partnership with the German firm OHB-System to produce the aircraft as a carrier for the launch vehicle; the German government subsequently withdrew funding in 1998.
Operational history
Deployment
The Tu-160 was first presented to the public in a parade in 1989. In 1989 and 1990 it set 44 world speed flight records in its weight class. Squadron deployments to Long Range Aviation began in April 1987. Until 1991, 19 of those aircraft served in the 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment in Pryluky in the Ukrainian Socialist Republic, replacing Tu-16 'Badger' and Tu-22M3 'Backfire' aircraft. In January 1992, Boris Yeltsin decided to discontinue production of the Tu-160. By this time, 35 aircraft had been built. In the same year, Russia unilaterally suspended its flights of strategic aviation in remote regions. After the fall of the Soviet Union, 19 of 35 of those aircraft became Ukrainian property, although in 1999 a deal between Russia and Ukraine led to eight of those aircraft being returned to Russia in exchange for a reduction in Ukraine's energy debts. Ukraine, which gave up nuclear weapons as part of the collapse of USSR, destroyed the other Blackjacks in its possession, except for one airframe retained for static display.
Russia's second Tu-160 unit, the 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment basing in Engels, was organised in 1992, but by 1994 it had received only six aircraft. Between 1999 and 2000 the eight former Ukrainian planes were assigned to the regiment, and another newly factory-built aircraft was assigned in 2000. By early 2001, in accordance with the START-2 Treaty, Russia has had 15 new-built Tu-160s, of which six were formerly missile-armed strategic bombers. One aircraft was lost during a test flight after engine repairs, on 18 September 2003.
There were 14 Tu-160s in service as of November 2005. Another two new-built aircraft are nearing completion at the Kazan Aircraft Plant, one of which was due to enter service in March 2006, with the other following later in the year. As of 2001, six additional Tu-160 have served as experimental aircraft at Zhukovski, four of them remaining airworthy.
On 30 December 2005, under an order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Tu-160 officially entered service in the VVS.
On 17 August 2007 President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was resuming the strategic aviation flights stopped in 1991, sending its bomber aircraft on long-range patrols. On 25 December 2007, two Blackjacks came close to Danish airspace, and two Danish Air Force F-16s scrambled to intercept and identify them.[6]
According to Russian government sources, on 11 September 2007, a Tu-160 was used to drop the massive fuel-air explosive device, the Father of all bombs, for its first ever field test.[7]
On 28 December 2007 a new Tu-160 was reported to have been completed at the Kazan Aviation Plant. After flight testing, it is due to join the Russian Air Force in 2008. The report also cites a Russian Air Force representative as saying that the long-term armament program includes plans for producing a new Tu-160 aircraft every 1-2 years in order to bring the total number of bombers in this class to 30 by 2025-2030. [8]
TU-160, No. 02 "Vasily Reshetnikov" at the Engels airbase.
On 22 January 2008, two Russian Tu-160 en route to the Bay of Biscay were intercepted by Norwegian and RAF fighter jets.citation needed
On 10 September 2008 two Russian Tu-160 landed in Venezuela as part of military manoeuvres, announcing an unprecedented deployment to Russia's ally at a time of increasingly tense relations between Russia and the United States and Europe following events in Georgia. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the two Tu-160 bombers were on a training mission. It said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the aircraft will conduct training flights over neutral waters before returning to Russia. Its spokesman added that the aircraft were escorted by NATO fighters as they flew across the Atlantic Ocean.[9] [10]
Modernization
In 2006, the Russian Air Force was expected to receive five modernized and one new-built Tu-160 [11]. The Russian Air Force will receive a further five modernized Tu-160s each year [12], which means that modernization of the fleet could be achieved within three years if the schedule is kept up.
Changes announced as follows:
- completely digital, multireserved, neutron and other nuclear emissions resistant avionics
- full support of cruising and steering through GLONASS global satellite positioning system
- updated version of NK-32 engines with increased reliability. [12]
- ability to operate new nuclear/non-nuclear GLONASS-navigated cruise missiles (Kh-55). [13]
- ability to handle missiles that launch military or civil satellites [14]
- ability to bear laser-guided bombs [15]
- advanced radar emissions absorbing covering [16]
In January 2007 Army General Vladimir Mikhailov announced that the VVS would receive two new-built Tu-160s every three years, and that it would start a new program to upgrade the avionics on its current fleet of 16 bombers.[17]
Variants
- Tu-160
Several variants have been proposed, but not built, including:
- Tu-160S: designation used for serial Tu-160s when needed to separate them from all the pre-production and experimental aircraft [18]
- Tu-160V: liquid hydrogen fueled version (see also Tu-155) [18]
- Tu-160 NK-74: upgraded (extended range) version with NK-74 engines [18]
- Tu-160M: a stretched bomber carrying two long-range, hypersonic Kh-90 (3M25 Meteorit-A) missiles
- Tu-160P (Tu-161): a very long-range escort fighter/interceptor
- Tu-160PP: an electronic warfare aircraft carrying stand-off jamming and ECM gear (Russian: ПП - постановщик помех)
- Tu-160R: a strategic reconnaissance platform
- Tu-160SK: commercial version, designed to launch satellites within the "Burlak" (Russian: Бурлак, "hauler") system. [18]
- Tu-170: a conventional bomber (conceived in order to avoid SALT-2 limits)
Operators
Current
 Russia
- Russian Air Force: As of April 2008, 19 were in service.[19] Three to four more are due to enter service by the end of the year.[20]
Former
 Soviet Union
 Ukraine
- Ukrainian Air Force had 19 Tu-160s (Ukraine handed over eight Tu-160s to Russia as exchange for debt relief in 1999, the Tu-160s remaining in Ukraine were destroyed)
Specifications (Tu-160)
General characteristics
- Crew: 4 (pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, defensive systems operator)
- Length: 54.1 m (177 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan:
- Spread (20° sweep): 55.70 m (189 ft 9 in)
- Swept (65° sweep): 35.60 m (116 ft 10 in)
- Height: 13.10 m (43 ft 0 in)
- Wing area:
- Spread: 400 m² (4,310 ft²)
- Swept: 360 m² (3,875 ft²)
- Empty weight: 110 t (242,000 lb)
- Loaded weight: 267 t (590,000 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 275 t (606,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 4× Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofans
- Dry thrust: 137 kN (30,900 lbf) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 245 kN (55,100 lbf) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.05[21] (2,220 km/h, 1,380 mph, 1,200 knots) at high altitude
- Range: 17,400 km (9,400 nm, 10,800 mi) unrefueled
- Combat radius: 10,500 km (5,670 NM, 6,500 mi)
- Service ceiling 15,000 m (49,200 ft)
- Rate of climb: 70 m/s (13,860 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 743 kg/m² with wings fully swept (152 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.37
Armament
- 2 internal bays for 40,000 kg (88,200 lb) of ordnance, options include:
Subsonic L/D is 18.5-19, while supersonic it is above 6.[22]
See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
References
External links
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