In the early 70s, in response to the American program to create the B-1A supersonic strategic bomber, our country held a design competition for a multi-mode strategic bomber with a variable geometry wing.
The project of the Design Bureau of V. M. Myasishchev took first place. However, the weakness of the production base forced MAL to transfer the order to the more powerful Design Bureau named after. A. N. Tupolev.
Valentin Bliznyuk Chief designer of Tupolev Design Bureau
In 1980 The first copy of the new bomber, called the Tu-160, was built.
I would like to especially note this photograph, because this is the first photograph of the Tu-160 that fell into the hands of foreign intelligence services. And it was made, no matter how trivial it sounds, from a passenger plane by a foreign tourist.
In 1981 Tu-160 took off for the first time. In 1986 The assembly of serial Tu-160s began at the Kazan Aviation Plant. In 1987 The first production vehicle entered service with the troops.
According to the initial plans, it was planned to produce a series of 100 Tu-160 aircraft, but later, for financial reasons, the order was reduced to 40 aircraft.
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force P.S. Deinekin, long-range aviation in the conditions economic crisis and the resulting restriction in funding for aviation programs requires more cheap option strategic bomber with improved operational characteristics.
The Tu-160 is the largest of all bombers previously created both in the USSR and abroad. The aircraft is made using an integrated circuit with smooth coupling of the wing and fuselage. The variable geometry wing provides flight in various profiles, maintaining high performance at both supersonic and subsonic speeds. The bomber has an all-moving vertical and horizontal tail, which, combined with the integral layout and low position of the crew, significantly reduces the ESR. A special feature of the airframe design is a titanium beam, which is an all-welded caisson with wing rotation units. All the main power elements of the airframe are attached to a beam that runs through the entire aircraft. The bomber is equipped with a hose-cone air refueling system. In the non-working position, the fuel receiving rod is retracted into the forward part of the fuselage in front of the cockpit.
The Tu-160 crew is located in two double cabins equipped with K-36DM seats.
The power plant consists of 4 DTRDF designed by N. D. Kuznetsov Design Bureau,
located in two nacelles under the fixed parts of the wing and having adjustable air intakes with a vertical wedge. The avionics include a strike-navigation complex, including a celestial navigation system, an inertial navigation system, an anti-aircraft navigation system, a radar designed to detect ground and sea targets at great distances, an optoelectronic bomb sight, active and passive advanced electronic warfare systems. The tail cone contains containers with IR traps and dipole reflectors. At the extreme rear part of the fuselage there is a thermal radar that detects missile attack and enemy aircraft approaching from the rear hemisphere.
The total number of digital processors available on board the aircraft exceeds 100. Workplace The navigator is equipped with eight digital computers. The cockpits are equipped with electromechanical and CRT indicators.
Each pilot has one information indicator on the CRT. The navigator's workplace is equipped with several CRT indicators with both round and rectangular screens.
The aircraft is equipped with an analog fly-by-wire control system. For the first time in the jet aircraft industry, a fighter-type handle, rather than a steering wheel, was used to control a serial heavy aircraft.
To improve living conditions during intercontinental flights, the bomber is equipped with a sleeping place, a toilet, and an electric oven for heating food.
Structurally, the Tu-160 is close to the American B-1 strategic bomber, but unlike it, it carries the entire combat load on the internal sling, which significantly reduces the aircraft's ESR.
The aircraft is equipped with a three-post landing gear with twin cylinders on wheels. The main struts are three-axle, the front strut is single-axle.
The Tu-160 can be used not only as a bomber, but also as a kind of first stage for launching artificial satellites into space. In this case, a special Burlak cruise missile is suspended under the fuselage. This combination makes it possible to launch satellites weighing 300-500 kg into polar orbits at an altitude of 500-700 km at minimal cost.
The heavy multi-mode, multi-role strategic bomber-missile carrier Tu-160, according to the unanimous assessment of experts, is the most powerful strike aircraft complex in the world.
Armament: 12 Kh-55 cruise missiles, 24 Kh-15 missiles, bombs (adjustable, nuclear)
Additional data
- Fuel consumption at a speed of 1800 km/h = 50..60 tons/hour (A. Vishnyakov)
- “The Tu-160, for your information, is used only as a carrier of cruise missiles. At supersonic speed (the aircraft has a limit of 2000 km/h), I only opened the cargo hatches when testing the aircraft for vibration in flight. But this is in this case It was about the fact that planes with cargo hatches in the fuselage are generally not capable of flying faster than 900 km/h. And I think it’s just crazy." ().
Links
- Tu-95 versus 3M/M-4 - Review of the Tu-160 by A. Vishnyakov.
Sources
- CD-ROM - encyclopedia of Akella weapons “Planes, ships, tanks”
In mid-January 2018, the Tu-160M supersonic strategic missile-carrying bomber with serial number 0804 began flight tests for the first time, and already on the 25th, the aircraft, named after the first commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, Pyotr Deinekin, was demonstrated to the president. Why does Russia need a Soviet plane and what future is being prepared for it?
Yesterday
Tu-160 is considered the largest and heaviest supersonic aircraft in the world. According to open data, the maximum speed of the vehicle is 2,230 kilometers per hour, flight range is 13,900 kilometers, altitude is 22 kilometers, wingspan is up to 56 meters. The Tu-160, capable of carrying up to 40 tons of weapons, was the Soviet answer to the American B-1 Lancer. Purpose and basic characteristics both aircraft are comparable to each other.
The first flight of the B-1 Lancer took place in 1974, while the Blackjack (as the Americans called the Tu-160) flew only in 1981. The Soviet vehicle was created by the Tupolev Design Bureau, which received part of the documentation for the competing M-18/20 projects of the Myasishchev Design Bureau and T-4MS.
The aerodynamic design of the Tu-160 is reminiscent of the supersonic Tu-22M, which also uses a variable sweep wing in flight; in addition, the new machine is similar to the Tu-144, the world's first supersonic passenger plane, received an integral layout in which the fuselage actually acts as an extension of the wing and thereby provides an increase in lift.
Although the Tupolev Design Bureau conceptually used its own developments when creating the Tu-160, practically the machine was developed from scratch. The new product became a serious challenge for the Soviet aviation industry, to which it found an answer that has not lost its relevance to this day.
In just three years, the Kuibyshev Design Bureau Kuznetsov created the NK-32 engine for the Tu-160; on its basis, it is planned to develop (instead of the Ukrainian D-18T) units for the An-124 Ruslan military transport aircraft and the Russian strategic bomber-missile carrier being developed. generation PAK DA (Advanced Long-Range Aviation Complex).
The Tu-160, which does not have static stability (the position of the machine’s center of mass changes as fuel is consumed and weapons are dropped), became the first Soviet serial heavy aircraft equipped with a fly-by-wire control system (for the first time in the world, such a scheme was developed in the 1930s by the same Tupolev Design Bureau passenger aircraft ANT-20 "").
The Tu-160 also received a new on-board defense system “Baikal”, which allows you to track, jam or distract enemy air defense systems with false targets, and elements to reduce the radar and infrared visibility of the aircraft.
Serial production of the Tu-160 was launched at Gorbunov, which previously produced Tu-4, Tu-22 and Tu-22M. Assembly new car required the construction of not only additional workshops, but also the introduction of new technologies. In particular, the company introduced electron beam welding on titanium, from which the center section of the aircraft was created. This technology, lost by the plant ten years ago, has now been restored.
In total, 36 Tu-160s were built by 1992, at the same time at the Gorbunov plant there were four more vehicles in varying degrees of readiness. In 1999, the 37th aircraft flew, and in 2007, the 38th. "Peter Deinekin" became the 39th Tu-160. Today Russia has 17 operational aircraft, at least nine Tu-160s have been cut by Ukraine. The remaining 11 were given to museums, were used for tests, or were in emergency situations.
Today
The Tu-160s available to Russia will undergo modernization. In particular, the aircraft will receive new NK-32 engines of the second series, avionics and on-board defense systems, as well as longer-range and more powerful strategic missiles (already in the Tu-160M2 modification). These innovations, which make it possible to increase the efficiency of Blackjack by 60 percent, will be tested on the Tu-160M “Peter Deinekin”, which so far differs only slightly from the Tu-160 model.
To date, Blackjack has taken part in hostilities only during the operation in Syria, where it struck positions (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) with X-555 cruise missiles (flight range up to 2,500 kilometers) and X-101 (hits targets at a distance up to 7,500 kilometers).
It looks like Blackjack is headed for a revival. In addition to upgrading existing aircraft to the Tu-160M2 version, the Russian military expects to receive ten more such aircraft from the Kazan Gorbunov Aviation Plant, the contract value is 160 billion rubles. In this case, by the mid-2020s, the Russian Aerospace Forces will have 27 Tu-160M2 at its disposal.
Tomorrow
The developments and technologies used in the modernization of Blackjack are planned to be used in the creation of new aircraft. It is from the Tu-160M2 that the new generation strategic bomber-missile carrier PAK DA (Advanced Aviation Complex for Long-Range Aviation) will receive an engine, avionics elements and an on-board defense system. Unlike the Tu-160, the PAK DA being developed will be a subsonic aircraft, since it initially relies on the use of high-precision weapons.
Russian plane " White Swan“- the machine, developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau, belongs to the class of military aviation. Gathered during the times of the Union. Several machines are still in operation today. Distinctive feature This model has a variable wing geometry. According to the class of weapons it belongs to bombers. Like all Tupolev cars, it got its “Tu” in the name. Full name according to technical data - Tu-160.
At the moment, production of the aircraft has been discontinued, but rumors periodically appear in the media that it will be resumed, taking into account all the innovations and developments that exist today.
Proper names...
The White Swan aircraft is the only class of all Russian aviation, which got its name. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there are not so many such aircraft in Russia. Maybe it’s a matter of exclusivity, but each “White Swan” also has the names of famous pilots (Tu-160 “Valery Chkalov”), fabulous heroes (Tu-160 “Ilya Muromets”) or famous designers and champions.
18
It’s interesting that there were two cars with tail number “18” in the design bureau. For the first time this tail number was given to the first flight model. It took off on December 18, 1981. The second plane was assembled for static experiments, and it did not take off. The next one also became a flying model.
The second car with tail number “18” was released after the start of mass production. She got given name"Andrey Tupolev". According to the manufacturer (Kazan), it underwent a planned restoration in 2013.
It is worth noting the point that the “White Swan” strategic aircraft, as it was later called, cost a lot of money, and was developed only for the needs Soviet Union, so the concept of seriality here can be used with great reserve. For export this model was not supplied.
Is the flock big?
Before moving directly to the flight characteristics, weapons and capabilities, it should be noted that, unlike other non-serial models, a different situation has developed here. Those interested in the question of how many White Swan aircraft Russia has can be reminded that the machine began to be assembled back in the days of the Union and, perhaps, would have been assembled to this day if there had been a Union. But with the collapse of all Soviet-scale industries, assembly stopped here too. Therefore, only 35 machines were assembled that were capable of flying into the air, among them - an order of magnitude less. But according to some media reports, the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to increase the fleet of “swans” to 50 units. Along with this, old machines are being modernized, and new ones are being developed.
Having examined the situation today, let's move on to the history of creation, the development of weapons and other details, without which the White Swan military aircraft simply could not exist, or would be completely different. After all, at first it was not Tupolev who was offered the role of chief developer. But first things first.
The story of the White Swan
In the mid-70s of the last century, the Union had powerful capabilities for a nuclear attack, and at the same time, a clear lag in the class of strategic aviation. This class of those years was represented only by subsonic bombers, unable to penetrate the air defenses of their intended enemies. Therefore, in 1967, the USSR government issued a decree on the creation of a “new, multi-mode strategic aircraft.” The development of the project is carried out in the bureau of Sukhoi and Myasishchev. The Tupolev team had other orders at that time, so they did not work on this aircraft. It is noteworthy that while developing completely different aircraft, both bureaus agreed on one thing - both projects featured a variable sweep wing.
New aircraft projects
At the same time, the Sukhoi Design Bureau started from the T-4 version, which they had created earlier, and Myasishchev took a different path - the bureau was developing the M-20 multi-mode bomber-missile carrier. It can also be noted that both versions had other modifications planned - an anti-submarine aircraft or a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
Tupolev Design Bureau became involved in 1969, after the Air Force revised plans and set specific deadlines. It should be noted that the Tupolevs had an advantage over their competitors - the TU-144, a supersonic passenger airliner. Its development made it possible to solve the main problems of sub- and supersonic flight. You can also mention the Tu-22M, during the development of which new weapon systems and flight equipment were tested. The project they released most resembled an improved TU-144 and was in no way comparable to the White Swan aircraft. Its characteristics largely repeated those of the 144, but had some new parts that were tested during the production of the TU-22M.
Decision in favor of "White Swan"
It should be noted that the Air Force recognized better version Sukhoi's new bomber was the T-4M, but Sukhoi had at that moment begun development of the T-10 (better known as the SU-27), and the transition to heavy aviation would have delayed its development indefinitely. Therefore, the military made a “Solomon decision.” The Sukhov team will continue to work on the fighter, but all materials on the T-4M will be transferred to Tupolev, who will bring the aircraft to mass production.
Perhaps the projects would have ended there, and the new White Swan aircraft would have been a renamed T-4M, but Tupolev decided differently. He abandoned the documentation and decided to continue developing a new aircraft with variable sweep wings. Fixed wing layouts were no longer raised. It should be noted that the Air Force named two main requirements - transonic flights at Not high altitude or subsonic to a significant extent. It was in response to these opposing conditions that the aircraft appeared, which later received the code name Tu-160M. “M” in this context meant a modernized version using new technologies and materials. At the same time, the development of new power plants, chassis, engines and other components began. In total, the White Swan aircraft received parts from more than 500 organizations of various profiles.
"Swan" and modifications
Despite the rather difficult fate of the Tu-160, in addition to the main model, they also developed 4 varieties of the 160, distinguished by different indices and intended for different purposes, as well as the Tu-161 model, which has a wider fuselage due to the use of liquid hydrogen engines.
Thus, the Tu-160PP model was developed - an electronic interception aircraft. In addition to the layout in life size and definitions necessary equipment, there was no follow-up. The Tu-160P, in addition to missiles, could have the capabilities of a heavy fighter. The NK-74 (Tu-160) model would have received special, more powerful power plants, which would have a positive effect on the flight range. And finally, the Tu-160K remained only on paper - a missile system project.
Flight data and speed
As reviews on the Internet write, this is the most powerful, heaviest, best White Swan aircraft. Flight characteristics: wingspan 35-55 m. At the same time, the wing area remains unchanged and amounts to 232 sq. m. The practical ceiling is 21 km (for comparison: a passenger airliner can rise to 11.5). The flight duration can be more than 15 hours; when flying without refueling, it will be 12,500 km. Combat radius 5000 km.
The plane is controlled by a team of 4 people, and the crew members have the opportunity to stand up and warm up. The length of the aircraft is 50 m, height - 13. On board there is a small kitchen and a bathroom. 4 engines are pressed to the fuselage, a pair on each side, capable of developing thrust up to 18,000 kgf, the afterburner mode is capable of squeezing up to 25,000.
Considering that the Air Force was tasked with assembling an aircraft capable of achieving supersonic speed (and only the TU-144 was able to achieve this in the Soviet Union before) - a supersonic airliner, the speed of the White Swan aircraft has been a subject of debate for quite a long time. Nevertheless, the cruising speed is 920 km/h, and the maximum speed reaches 2300 km/h. Ascent speed 4,000 m/minute. To take off, a car needs a runway of at least 800 m in length; it can land on a runway of at least 2 km in length.
Armament
It remains for us to describe one more detail, which is always mentioned when talking about military equipment, which is the “White Swan”. An aircraft whose armament requires it to remain over enemy territory - this can be said about a bomber. But the “swan” does not necessarily have to appear over enemy territory.
Being a strategic bomber, the Tu-160 also gained the ability to use cruise missiles. You can use 2 types of them. These are Kh-55SM, used to hit targets that have given coordinates (target coordinates are entered into the missile’s memory blocks even before the aircraft takes off). Up to 12 missiles can be used in flight. Or the X-15S, designed to hit nearby targets - you can take 24 missiles of this type on board.
Interestingly, after modernization missile weapons has become basic - launchers may have to be removed to use bombs. Instead of bombs you can use nuclear bombs or cluster bombs. Further modernization of existing vehicles will make it possible to use the X-101 and X-555 - the latest missiles, designed for increased range and destruction of targets of almost all classes, regardless of whether they are land or sea.
Conclusion
According to most experts, the White Swan aircraft is several times ahead of its main rivals, the American B-1 and the English. The flight range of the Tu-160M (modernized) is 4 times higher than the British one, the number of bombs is also several times higher. Engine efficiency is better than English version. The flight speed is 1.5 times higher than that of the American, the flight range and combat radius are 1.5 times higher. The thrust of the engines is almost 2 times stronger. If we compare it with the B-2 (modernization of the B-1), the characteristics of which are cut down wherever possible, then the Tu-160 will be better in every respect.
On January 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kazan Aviation Plant named after. S.P. Gorbunov (a branch of Tupolev PJSC, part of the United Aircraft Corporation, UAC), where he observed the demonstration flight of the modernized Tu-160 strategic bomber. This new missile carrier with serial number 0804 was named after the first commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, Pyotr Deinekin.
Test flights of the aircraft began last week. The rolling out ceremony of the first prototype took place on November 16, 2017. Expected to finish current year The missile carrier will be transferred to the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of the Russian Federation. The volume of the contract for the supply of ten modernized Tu-160M missile carriers to the Russian Ministry of Defense will amount to 160 billion rubles. According to the president, this will allow the enterprise to be fully loaded by 2027. The head of state called the work done to create the aircraft “a great success for the plant’s team.”
The story of the "swan"
The supersonic Tu-160M2 (according to NATO codification - Blackjack) is an improved version of the Tu-160 developed in the USSR. Among the pilots he received the nickname "White Swan". Along with the Tu-95MS, it forms the basis of the modern fleet of Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Tu-160 is the largest supersonic aircraft in the history of military aviation, the heaviest combat aircraft in the world, capable of carrying cruise missiles with nuclear warheads.
It was created in response to the introduction of the Rockwell B-1 Lancer intercontinental bomber into the United States. The need to create a new aircraft was also explained by the fact that at the end of the 1960s, strategic aviation only had outdated subsonic bombers - Tu-95 and M-4.
Compared to its American rival, the Tu-160 received a fly-by-wire control system, a rudder in the form of an all-moving upper part of the fin, and a rotating “ridge” that improves flow around the articulation area of the moving and fixed parts of the wing. Central beam of this aircraft with a length of 12.4 m and a width of 2.1 m, which is the main structural element of the structure, is made of titanium according to unique technology. The maximum flight range is almost 14 thousand km. By the way, in 1985, during tests on the Tu-160, the speed of sound was exceeded for the first time.
From 1981 to 1992, 36 such aircraft were built, although initially it was planned to make 100. The first 19 copies of the bomber were transferred to the bomber air regiment in the city of Priluki, Ukrainian SSR, from 1987. Therefore, after the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation did not have a single new strategic bomber. In 1992–1994, six aircraft were built and transferred to the bomber air regiment in Engels. In 1999–2000, Russia received from Ukraine 11 strategic bombers (eight Tu-160 and three Tu-95MS), as well as about 600 air-launched missiles in settlement of Ukrainian debts for Russian gas. The ten aircraft remaining in Priluki were disposed of at the insistence of the United States, and another was transferred to a museum in Poltava. Today, the Russian Aerospace Forces have 16 units in combat.
Cost of "White Swan"
Expert estimates of the cost range from $250-600 million (in 1993, the media called 6 billion rubles, which corresponded to approximately $600 million). One hour of missile carrier flight (without combat use) costs, according to official data for 2008, 580 thousand rubles (about $23.3 thousand). For comparison: the cost of the American B-1B bomber, which is close to the Tu-160 in terms of flight performance, is $317 million; an hour of flight costs $57.8 thousand.
Continuation
The decision to resume production of bombers in a modernized version was made in 2015. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that their serial production should begin in 2023. In June 2017, Viktor Bondarev, who then held the post of commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces, stated that the Tu-160M2 could take off for the first time at the end of 2018. PJSC Tupolev began work on the creation of deeply modernized aircraft.
Swan update
Despite the external similarity with the previous version, the Tu-160M2 is distinguished by the latest combat support systems, as well as latest versions double-circuit turbojet forced engine NK-32 (produced at the Samara PJSC Kuznetsov).
According to a TASS source in the military-industrial complex (DIC), the new aircraft is not a prototype of a modernized version of the bomber.
The aircraft underwent only minor modernization; the airframe and engines remained the same. Fully digitized documentation on the new missile carrier will be released no earlier than the middle of this year, and without it, work on the construction of the Tu-160M is impossible
source in the defense industry
Thanks to modernization, efficiency will increase by 60%. According to Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov, the Tu-160M2 will be a practically new aircraft, two and a half times more efficient than its predecessor. Appearance The updated "White Swan" is as recognizable as that of its "elder brother", created in Soviet times.
The Ministry of Defense plans to restore production of the Tu-160 strategic bomber. We are not talking about a one-to-one restoration, because the Tu-160, which we have in service today, is an aircraft developed in the 80s, which, fortunately, has surpassed its time in its performance characteristics. Today he has the most best characteristics. The aircraft we are talking about will probably be called Tu-160M2 and will be practically a new aircraft
Yuri Borisov
Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation
According to the commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, the introduction of new digital technologies will "significantly increase the combat capabilities of the strike complex using long-range, high-precision weapons."
Economical engines with wider resource capabilities will increase the flight range, which, together with the declared power-to-weight ratio, will maintain the Tu-160 strategic missile carrier's leading position among strategic strike systems
Sergey Kobylash
Commander of Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General
Due to the modernization of a number of engine components of the NK-32 series 02, the aircraft has become more economical. “It has wider resource capabilities. Thanks to this engine, the Tu-160M2 bomber, the production of which is planned to be launched in Russia, will receive expanded capabilities, including an increased flight range,” noted the United Engine Corporation (UEC). UEC stated that the test bench for new engines has been reconstructed and certified to work with NK-32 power plants.
This engine has been modernized: the main blocks and components have become more economical, the engine as a whole has better resource capabilities, and due to the work that has made it possible to improve it economic indicators, the aircraft’s flight range will be at least a thousand kilometers greater than the existing one
Victor Bondarev
ex-commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Colonel General
As the press service of the Kazan Aviation Plant explains, the model was built on the basis of the technological reserve available at the enterprise. “It was being completed, among other things, to solve the problems of reproducing the Tu-160 in a new look: restoring technology final assembly, testing of individual new technological solutions, testing of new aircraft engines with improved characteristics,” notes the plant’s press service.
Possibilities of the "swan"
Suppliers of components for the new aircraft did not stand aside either. During the modernization of the Tu-160, the Radio-Electronic Technologies Concern (KRET) is creating new computer and on-board systems, control equipment, a strapdown inertial navigation system, an electronic warfare complex, fuel and flow metering systems, as well as weapons control systems. The board of the new Tu-160M2 will be made with elements of integrated modular avionics, which will later be used for the PAK DA. The development of avionics (avionics) for the Tu-160M2 was promised to be completed by 2020.
Supersonic Russian bomber White Swan (Tu-160)
The Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber (according to NATO classification "Black Jack") was developed at the Tupolev design bureau together with the Kazan Aviation Production Association named after S.P. Gorbunov in Tatarstan from 1980 to 1992.
The first flight of the bomber was carried out in December 1981, and in April 1987 the Tu-160 aircraft was put into service. According to some reports, a total of 35 aircraft were built, but currently only 16 aircraft are in operation, the rest of the aircraft are out of service.
The aircraft has a combat radius of 6,000 km (without mid-air refueling), and a service ceiling of 16,000 m. The maximum flight speed is 2,000 km at high altitude and 1,030 km at low altitude.
The Tu-160 received the name “White Swan” due to its maneuverability and special white coloring.
The main combat purpose of the aircraft is the delivery of nuclear and conventional bombs and missiles to deep continental theaters of military operations.
The aircraft is all-weather, with no disabilities day-night and can be operated and solve combat missions in all geographical latitudes.
Tu-160 engines are installed in two rows under the wings. The air intakes have vertical valves - wings.
The aircraft's power plant system includes four turbofan engines - NK-32, each of which provides a maximum thrust of 25,000 kg.
The bomber has an in-flight refueling system. When not in use, the refueling probe is retracted into the forward fuselage in front of the cockpit.
The plane takes on board 150,000 kg of fuel.
The Tu-160 is similar in appearance to the American B-1B, but it was created after the creation of the B1-B.
Tu-160, today the most modern heavy bomber in Russia. This is a 267 ton aircraft that can carry up to 40 tons of bombs and missiles.
It was created primarily to deliver cruise missiles. Noting the success of the B-1 in Afghanistan and Iraq with smart bombs, changes were made to the Tu-160 so that it could also use these weapons, but without compromising the ability to use cruise missiles.
By 2020, the Russian Air Force will receive more than 10 modernized Tu-160s. According to official data, at least 16 examples of Tu-160 bombers are currently in operation in Russia.
There are plans to increase their number to 30.
The Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-wing geometry, heavy bomber designed to strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional munitions in deep continental theaters of war. The modernized version is called Tu-160M, has new system weapons, improved electronics and avionics, which doubles combat effectiveness. The aircraft is equipped with a highly computerized avionics system, which includes an integrated targeting system, a navigation and flight control system, and an electronic countermeasures system against radar detection.
Technical characteristics of Tu-160:
Crew: 4 people
Aircraft length: 54.1 m
Wingspan: 55.7/50.7/35.6 m
Height: 13.1 m
Wing area: 232 m²
Empty weight: 110,000 kg
Normal take-off weight: 267,600 kg
Maximum take-off weight: 275,000 kg
Engines: 4 × NK-32 turbofan engines
Maximum thrust: 4 × 18000 kgf
Afterburner thrust: 4 × 25000 kgf
Fuel mass, kg 148000
Flight characteristics of the Tu-160 strategic bomber:
Maximum speed at altitude: 2230 km/h (1.87M)
Cruising speed: 917 km/h (0.77 M)
Maximum flight range without refueling: 13950 km
Practical flight range without refueling: 12,300 km
Combat radius: 6000 km
Flight duration: 25 hours
Service ceiling: 15,000
Climbing rate: 4400 m/min
Takeoff length 900 m
Run length 2000 m
at maximum take-off weight: 1185 kg/m²
at normal take-off weight: 1150 kg/m²
Thrust-to-weight ratio:
at maximum take-off weight: 0.37
at normal take-off weight: 0.36