As a long-range supersonic missile-carrying bomber and one of the components of the domestic nuclear triad, the Tu-22M3 is one of the true examples of Russian military power.
The Tu-22M3 has been in service for more than 20 years, at the moment Measures are being taken to extend the service life of this aircraft for another 25 years.
You can, of course, ask the question “why spend money on the further operation of these aircraft,” but let’s give one example, and the answer will be more or less obvious - the United States has been using the B-52 aircraft for more than 50 years and plans to use its various modifications for at least another 30 years . If we are not the only ones doing something, then there is a definite need for it.
creation of the Tu-22M3.
At the end of June 1974, a decree of the Soviet government was issued, which determined the further development of the Tu-22M aircraft with the NK-25 engine, with airframe modifications and improved characteristics. The new modified Tu-22M aircraft is named Tu-22M3.
Main changes in the Tu-22M3 compared to the Tu-22M:
- modified air intakes are installed;
- the maximum sweep angle of the rotating part of the wing has been increased to 65 degrees;
- lengthen the nose of the fuselage;
- change the fuel refueling rod;
- install an aerodynamically improved GSh-23L cannon;
- eliminate various shortcomings identified during the operation of the Tu-22M;
- work was completed to reduce the weight of the aircraft by 2.5 tons;
- work was completed to modernize the navigation complex;
During the work, the aircraft managed to receive the name Tu-32, but due to failures in the development of new developments, the aircraft was returned to its former name Tu-22M3.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the aircraft production plant and the design bureau, the first deeply modernized Tu-22M3 aircraft made its first flight in 1977. After successful tests in 1978, the Tu-22M3 aircraft went into mass production. The Tu-22M was produced for another 5 years, after which only the Tu-22M3 remained in production. In 1993, production of the long-range missile-carrying bomber ceased.
In 1981, state tests were carried out, and the Tu-22M3 aircraft was recommended for adoption by the Air Force and Navy of the Soviet Union.
After this, various additional tests were carried out for another 3 years, and the Tu-22M3 entered service only in 1989.
Real Tu-22M3.
In service of the Armed Forces Russian Federation There are about 165 long-range missile-carrying bombers. Most is on long-term storage. There are 3 more aircraft in the Indian Air Force. Ukrainian Tu-22M3 were eliminated as Ukraine fulfilled its obligations to abandon nuclear weapons.
A promising future is the creation of a commercial project for launching small satellites and other equipment into orbit, and the creation of a promising project for launching the latest hypersonic vehicles to a given altitude.
The use of the Tu-22M3 in service today is possible thanks to the operating system that has been proven over the years, which includes:
Ensuring survivability - supply of technical equipment, maintenance equipment, fuels and lubricants, spare parts, ammunition, additional materials for successful maintenance work and combat use airplane;
- radio technical support for flights in a given area;
- other types of support to maintain the aircraft in full combat readiness.
The Tu-22M3 can be redeployed from its main base to an operational airfield; weapons can be moved unloaded inside the aircraft. The equipment of the aircraft at the operational airfield is carried out using mobile equipment for servicing long-range aircraft and technical kits, which are used by ITS when relocating.
This allows the Tu-22M3 to be used in any given area.
Design work on the modernization of the Tu-22M3 missile-carrying bomber almost never stopped.
The real work to extend the service life of these aircraft for the next 25 years is work to modernize the Tu-22M3.
It is expected that the Tu-22M3 will be equipped with new high-precision weapons and updated avionics.
Main characteristics of Tu-22M3:
- length 41.5 meters;
- height 11,000 meters;
-wing span 34.2 meters;
- weight 78 tons;
- take-off weight 112 tons;
- fuel weight 53.5 tons;
- engine 2 DTRDF NK-25;
- total thrust 29,000 kgf;
- total thrust at afterburner 50,000 kgf;
- speed at altitude - 2300 kilometers per hour;
- cruising speed - 900-1000 kilometers per hour;
- range up to 7 thousand meters;
- combat radius 1500-1900 meters;
- practical ceiling 13 thousand meters;
- crew of four people.
Weapons:
- GSh-23L cannon, 23 mm caliber;
- up to 3 X-22M guided missiles;
- up to 10 X-15 missiles;
- possible load 24 tons;
Additional information.
Tu -22M3 took part in combat operations in 1984 to support the operations of the Fortieth Army in Afghanistan. In 1988, these aircraft ensured the safe withdrawal of Soviet army units from Afghanistan. It is known that the Tu-22M3 was used during the conflict in Georgia in 2008.
Information
ABOUT THE PLANE
Development:
OKB A.N. Tupolev
Production:
KAZ named after. S.P. Gorbunova
First flight:
Project stage:
modernization
The long-range supersonic missile carrier-bomber (NATO codification: Backfire) is designed to destroy sea and ground-based targets with guided missiles and aerial bombs.
Design Features
Aircraft of the Tu-22M series are made according to normal aerodynamic design with a low-mounted variable-sweep wing. The structure is made mainly of aluminum alloys, as well as high-strength and heat-resistant steels, titanium and magnesium alloys. The wing consists of a fixed part and rotating consoles. The sweep angle of the rotary consoles ranges from 20° to 65°. The wing mechanization includes slats and three-section double-slit flaps. The spoilers are deflected differentially for roll control and synchronously for use as an aerodynamic brake. The stabilizer is all-rotating. The aircraft has a semi-monocoque fuselage and a tricycle retractable landing gear with a nose gear. The power plant consists of two NK-25 turbofan engines. A TA-6A APU is installed in the fork.
History of creation
The first experimental Tu-22M3 made its first flight on June 20, 1977. Since 1978, the aircraft has been put into mass production. In its final form, the Tu-22M3 was put into service in March 1989.
In total, the Kazan Aviation Production Association built about 500 Tu-22M aircraft of various modifications.
In 2018, as part of a large-scale modernization program for strategic and long-range aviation systems, the first deeply modernized Tu-22M3M missile carrier-bomber was created. As a result of deep modernization, the aircraft was equipped with new complex modern digital avionics (avionics) based on domestic components. The result of the work carried out was a significant expansion of combat potential aviation complex, including increased combat effectiveness and increased combat radius. The deeply modernized Tu-22M3M missile carrier-bomber made its first flight on December 28, 2018.
In the context of global provocations by the United States towards Russia, the role of operational-tactical missile-carrying aircraft, or more precisely, modernized Tu-22M3 aircraft, is increasing. There is an infinite number real stories about how aircraft of similar purposes, through the competent use of their combat capabilities aircraft overcame ground and sea air defense systems of America, Japan and countries opposing Soviet Union, and then Russia.
In 1986, two aircraft of the 2nd Marine Missile-Carrying Aviation Division of the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Major Berezkin, during joint exercises on the territory of Bulgaria, unnoticed by NATO aircraft, crossed two borders of the states belonging to this military bloc. Crew training was carried out as part of the Warsaw Pact exercises. And it seems that nothing supernatural happened.
The most interesting thing is that two missile carriers, equipped with missiles to destroy enemy aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean, changed their intended course by 13 degrees, “checked” two borders - with Greece and Turkey and returned safely to Bulgaria. We landed without much noise at the Graf Ignatiyevo airfield near Plovdiv! Later the pilots said that in the area settlement Drama in Greece, a NATO F-15 fighter tried to intercept them. The crews even visually observed it. The interceptor was flying at a level significantly higher than our planes, which were flying below the level of the mountains and turned out to be invisible to the foreign pilot! Moreover, it could not have occurred to the fighter pilot that heavy aircraft, with missiles on board, which he flew to intercept, could be between the mountains. Truly a piece of jewelry.
There are a great many similar stories in aviation; their reality can only be appreciated by long-range and naval aviation. I flew in naval missile-carrying aircraft and I won’t invent anything. However, while studying in my 4th year at the glorious CHVVAKUSH, in 1982 I had to fly a Tu-95 for six months at the Mozdok airfield (there weren’t enough camp airfields at the school), where the 182nd Guards was then based. Sevastopol-Berlin heavy bomber regiment. Naturally, we, the boys, who for the first time saw the giant Tu-95 so closely (on which only the rocket was larger than our MiG) were interested in everything related to aviation legends.
They took us to the museum of the regiment's military glory. There, under the glass, there was a huge photograph of the deck of an aircraft carrier with the crew lined up on it and a group of people in front of the formation. The caption was something like this: “The US Secretary of the Navy hosts the parade of the aircraft carrier crew.” (The picture was taken in the Atlantic from a height of 200 m by the crew of Major Efremov). For that flight, the crew was awarded, and Efremov himself received the Order of the Red Banner of Battle, a more than serious award in those times of peace. I also remember his approach to landing in Mozdok, after returning from a flight over the ocean with the failure of 2 engines, in foggy conditions, with very low clouds, as the pilots say, in the most severe minimum weather. So, probably, as an exception, such cases were possible.
Pilots of the missile carriers Tu-95Mr, Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3 themselves photographed the aircraft carriers: Coral-Sea, Enterprise and Midway. It was 1985. Then they let us pass over the deck, we filmed them from a height of 1000m. The F-14 Tomcat, as a rule, hung under the hatches of aerial cameras, but the on-board AFAs took everything: the ship, the wave, and even fighters. The flights were interesting. I was proud of my country, especially of the weapons that were on board our missile-carrying aircraft. This story took place during the heyday of Soviet-Cuban friendship. Then our distant strategic bombers Tu-95s regularly circled Cuba, taking aerial photographs of everything they could.
By the way, the Americans in this area kept their warships, including several aircraft carriers. The following story happened once: A pair of Tu-22M3s were flying over the ocean. TU-22 is not a small device, an operational-tactical missile carrier. The aircraft's wingspan is about 35 meters. The width is almost half the deck of an aircraft carrier. Two large modern engines for fifty tons of fuel. The slave carries two X-22 missiles for destroying aircraft carriers, and the leader carries two X-28 missiles with passive seekers designed to destroy operating ground-based and ship-based radars.
An American carrier-based fighter meets “our couple” over the sea. The commander of the leading Tu-22M3 in the element understands that a naval aircraft carrier group is nearby. “We’ll look, film the work of aviation on the deck, and study tactics at home,” our crews agreed. This F-18 pilot couldn’t fly so far from the ground. Finding an aircraft carrier group of the opposite side in the Sea of Japan and opening its air defense is initially a very difficult task, since the Americans effectively camouflage such groups in the shadows of numerous islands, so it is difficult to detect an aircraft carrier even from the air using radar. In addition, working radars allow ships to detect approaching aircraft and meet them “with dignity.”
However, our pilots, demonstrating the highest professionalism, were able to determine the exact coordinates of the “enemy” aircraft carrier without being detected. The “partners” met, the fighter “approached” the cockpit within sight of the helmet visor. The American took off his mask, smiled, winked at the commander, and then showed the belly of his plane along with the air-to-air missiles. To which the missile carriers alerted and menacingly swung their twin cannon mounts (an exchange of pleasantries, so to speak). But the American decided to play and didn’t calm down. Joker. He began to smile and invite the pilot to board the aircraft carrier. With gestures and a laugh, indicating something like – sit down! Below was the multi-purpose Kitty Hawk! On the deck of the aircraft carrier - a number of fighters, anti-submarine fighters and reconnaissance aircraft - were flying.
At the same time, two fighter planes were alerted and were unable to taxi to the beginning of the runway. One in a hurry blocked the taxiing to the other. The fuss, which was apparently connected with the approaching pair of Tu-22Ms, aircraft carrier killers, did its job. You have to film it to understand how to organize it in combat conditions. But the F-18 accompanying ours comes from below under the camera so that the missile carriers cannot photograph the bustle on the deck. The crews decide to simulate a landing on the deck.
As expected - they descend, extend the landing gear, flaps first 15, then 25 and finally 35 degrees. Whether it’s an imitation or not, you can tell without being in the cockpit of a huge missile carrier descending onto the deck. The Americans believed, which means that they imagined that the superstructure or command post of the aircraft carrier, all the aircraft on the deck would actually be demolished. And a fire caused by a collision of fifty tons of kerosene on board and two rockets, each weighing five tons, with obstacles on the deck, would take a week to extinguish!
The attack was a success! Although, of course, in reality the Tu-22, having been bombed with precision, would have been immediately destroyed by the covering aircraft that was already in the air. And, nevertheless, the breakthrough took place; in the same real battle, the aircraft carrier would have been damaged, which would have made it impossible for it to further carry out combat missions. The resulting images were examined by specialists at Far East and in Moscow - the photo clearly captured the panic that reigned in American aircraft carrier. But these pictures have not yet been made public. We still don’t know the names of the pilots either. We can only hope that the Navy command will eventually declassify the thirty-year-old information.
Stories from the lives of pilots and navigators.
Interesting story said the former commander of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army, later the deputy. Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Colonel General Anatoly Nagovitsyn. The meeting of American carrier-based aircraft with Russian Air Force fighters was “as close as possible” to combat.
An American pilot who became an eyewitness wrote (the text of his letter sent by email from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, against the will of the author of the message, became public): “...The voyage was quite easy and interesting: 54 days at sea, 4 in port and 45 hours of flight in October alone! So, I’m sitting there and chatting with my deputy, and we hear a call from the CIC (combat information center - the “brain” of the ship) on the box. They say: “Sir, we have spotted Russian planes.” The captain replies: “Declare the alarm, scramble the fighters.” From the center they report: you can only announce “Alert-30” (departure 30 minutes (!) from the moment of announcement). The captain swore and demanded: “Get everything into the air as quickly as possible!” I ran to the navigator's telephone and contacted the squadron duty officer. It wasn't our squadron that was on duty that day, so I told him to find out who was on duty and make them get off their asses and rush to the flight deck (only Alert 7 assumes you're already on the flight deck and ready to go into the air, "Alarm 30" means you are still sitting in the waiting room). Soon the Su-24s passed directly over the Kitty Hawk's bridge at a speed of 500 knots. Just like in the movie "Top Gun"! The officers on the bridge spilled their coffee and swore dirty words! At that moment I looked at the captain - his face was purple. The Russian fighters made two more tight turns at low altitude before we finally launched our first aircraft from the deck. It was... EA-6B Prowler (electronic warfare aircraft). Yes, yes, we launched the poor Prowler one-on-one against a fighter right above the ship. Our pilots were already asking for help when the F/A-18 finally took off to intercept. But it was too late. The whole team raised their heads and watched as the Russians made a mockery of our pathetic attempt to stop them. The funny thing is that the admiral and the commander of the carrier force were in the command room for a morning meeting, which was interrupted by the hum of the turbines of Russian aircraft circling above the aircraft carrier's control room. The commander's staff officer told me that they looked at each other, at the flight plan, made sure that the launch was planned for only a few hours later that day, and asked: “What was that?”
Four days later, the Russian intelligence service emailed the commander of the Kitty Hawk with photographs of our pilots rushing around the deck, desperately trying to get the planes into the air... The events described in the letter took place in the Korean Strait area on October 17, 2000. Two Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft and a covering flight of Su-27 fighter-interceptors from the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army took part in the flyby of the American multi-purpose aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. .
It should be noted that the American naval maneuvers took place only 300 km from the Russian coast, which in itself could not be regarded as a friendly act towards our country. Therefore, the actions of Russian aviation were completely justified and legal. The exploration results were impressive. Su-24MRs made several approaches to the aircraft carrier, photographing everything that was happening on the flight deck. The photographs showed panic on board the ship: the sailors began to urgently cut the hoses connecting the aircraft carrier to the tanker, which at that time was transferring fuel aboard the Kitty Hawk.
The F/A-18 fighters were able to take off only after the second approach of the Russian reconnaissance aircraft, but the Su-27s immediately led them away from the ship with a diversionary maneuver, which allowed the reconnaissance aircraft to make several more flights over the aircraft carrier, which was completely defenseless from the air. As Bacon later said, some time later, the aircraft carrier received an email containing two photographs of the Kitty Hawk deck taken from Russian aircraft during one of these Russian Air Force actions.
Naval aviation aircraft, both ours and American ones, quite often overfly foreign warships located in neutral waters. And therefore, it is not surprising that the actions of four Russian aircraft against the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk did not cause a negative reaction from US officials.
In the combat training plans of naval pilots, there is a section devoted to practicing techniques for overcoming the air defense of ships. Overcoming the air defense of an aircraft carrier group of the US Navy is considered the height of perfection. This succeeds extremely rarely - we must give the Americans their due; they build the defense of their aircraft carriers very competently and extremely reliably. However, as they say, even an old woman can get screwed.
So, Tu - 22M3.
The Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Air Force has already received modernized Tu-22M3 aircraft, which are now capable of using the latest X-32 missiles. The main task Missile-carrying aviation will remain the destruction of carrier strike groups (ACGs), landing formations, and groups of surface ships. The M3 modification is a further development of the Tu-22M. Tu-22M3 aircraft have been and remain an important component of anti-aircraft warfare.
The Tu-22M3 is often called the “aircraft carrier killer,” but this is an incorrect epithet. It is more correct to call a group of aircraft this way, and a single “Backfair” against an aircraft carrier group is not a warrior. The main weapon of the TU-22M3 is the Kh-32 missile. It has serious advantages over other analogues. These missiles exchange information with each other during flight - it is enough to launch them, indicating a minimum set of target parameters. The second is high survivability against air defense systems. According to calculations, one X-32 with structural protection can withstand a burst of 20-mm Vulcan-Phalanx anti-aircraft artillery system, a hit from one AIM-7 Sparrow missile or two or three AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
Now all military aviators clearly understand that the Tu-22M3 is a highly specialized aircraft capable of relatively effectively destroying enemy aircraft carriers, but is not applicable for solving other tasks. In addition, at the end of the 2000s, the air defense capabilities of the American Navy, which received guided missile cruisers with an integrated air defense system, increased many times over. Therefore, there is a state-of-the-art missile system to break through an air defense order and guarantee the destruction of a large surface ship. And this is a modernized Tu22M3 with an updated on-board location and missile system.
The Tu-22M3 easily hits even small ground targets with free-falling bombs from a height of at least eight thousand meters. Armed with modernized air-launched cruise missiles, which, unlike their predecessors X-22, are capable of penetrating air defenses at ranges of up to a thousand kilometers. Updated onboard sighting and navigation complex, weapons system, a new, more powerful NK-32 engine was installed.
Today, only the modification of the Tu-22-M4 with new navigation equipment and NK-32 engines has been brought to production. It was planned to arm the bomber with the X-32 supersonic cruise missile. It was created on the basis of the X-22 and tested at the 929th State Flight Test Center (GLITs). There is still no reliable information about the serial production of the new model and the number of vehicles transferred to the Air Force. In 2008, during the war in Transcaucasia, Tu-22M3s attacked Georgian airfields and ports with conventional free-falling bombs, rather than cruise missiles.
The Backfair carries several times more bombs than the Su-24 front-line bomber or Su-25 attack aircraft. The Air Force will receive 30 new aircraft of this type by 2020. It would not hurt if at least 40 vehicles of this type appeared in each of the Fleets in the North, East, Baltic and Black Sea Fleet.
- Data change date: 12/22/2015
DIMENSIONS(Tu-22M-3). Wing span 34.28/23.30 m, aircraft length 42.46 m; aircraft height 11.08 m, wing area 165 m2; wing sweep angles 20╟-65╟.
ENGINES. The Tu-22M-0 aircraft were equipped with two NK-144-22 turbofans (2 x 20,000 kgf), Tu-22M-1 and Tu-22M-2 - NK-22 (2 x 22,000 kgf), and on the Tu-22M -3 and Tu-22MR are equipped with NK-25 turbofan engines (2 x 14,500/25,000 kgf).
The engine control system is electric, with hydromechanical duplication.
The fuel is placed in integral tanks located in the central part of the fuselage, in the lower part of the fin, in the center section, in the fixed and moving parts of the wing. The total capacity of the tanks is 50,000 liters, refueling is carried out within 25-30 minutes.
The APU is located in the fork. In the rear part of the fuselage there are attachment points for two launch boosters.
MASSES AND LOADS, kg (Tu-22M-3): maximum take-off 124,000, maximum take-off with boosters 126,400, normal take-off 112,000, maximum landing 88,000, normal landing 78,000, fuel 53,550.
FLIGHT DATA(Tu-22M-3). Maximum speed 2300 km/h, maximum ground speed 1050 km/h, cruising speed 930 km/h, takeoff speed 370 km/h, landing speed 285 km/h; service ceiling 13,300 m; combat radius with a combat load of 12,000 kg at supersonic speed 1500-1850 km, at subsonic speed and extremely low altitude - 1500-1650 km, at subsonic along a mixed profile - 2410 km, take-off length 2000-21000 m; run length 1200-1300 m, maximum operational overload 2.5.
EQUIPMENT. The aircraft is equipped with a complex of flight navigation equipment, including a high-precision inertial navigation system. The automatic flight control system ensures flight along a given route while maintaining a programmed profile. The on-board complex includes a digital computer.
The Tu-22M-3 is equipped with a sighting and navigation system, including a high-power PNA radar (developed by NPO Leninets), and an optical bomber sight with a television channel, capable of being used in the dark and during daylight hours. There is a duplicated INS and radio navigation equipment. Low-altitude flight is ensured by an automatic altitude control system that receives information from a radio altimeter.
For remote control defensive weapons in the rear part of the fuselage, under the keel, are located a radar and a television sight.
REP means include systems radar reconnaissance and exposure warnings, active radar jamming systems, devices for ejecting dipole reflectors and heat traps (passive interference emission units are located in the area of the rotary stabilizer attachment points).
To warn of the approach of enemy missiles, an infrared station with a facet-shaped hemispherical fairing is located in the upper part of the fuselage, behind the cockpit.
DESIGN FEATURES. The Tu-22M aircraft is made according to a normal aerodynamic configuration with a variable geometry wing, an all-moving stabilizer and a single-fin vertical tail. The airframe structure is made mainly of aluminum alloys.
The wing consists of a fixed part and rotating consoles (on the Tu-22M-3 they can be installed in a position with a sweep angle of 20╟, 30╟ and 65╟, on aircraft of earlier modifications the maximum sweep angle is limited to 60╟). In the area of the rotating unit there are aerodynamic ridges that prevent air from flowing to the consoles.
Slats are installed on the toe of the consoles along the entire span. On the trailing edge there are elevons and three-section flaps, in front of which three-section spoilers are installed.
The differentially deflectable horizontal tail provides longitudinal control of the aircraft and duplicates the lateral controls if they fail.
WEAPONS. The missile armament of the Tu-22M-3 aircraft consists of one (under the fuselage in a semi-recessed position), two (under the wing) or three (overload version) Kh-22MA missile launchers, designed to engage large sea and radar-contrast ground targets at ranges of 140- 500 km. The launch mass of the rocket is 5900 kg, length is 11.3 m, maximum speed corresponds to M=3.
The bomber's armament is supplemented with hypersonic (M=5) short-range aeroballistic missiles designed to destroy stationary ground targets or enemy radars. Six missiles can be placed in the fuselage on a multi-position drum launcher, another four missiles are suspended on external units under the wing and fuselage.
Bomb armament, consisting of conventional and nuclear free-falling bombs with a total mass of up to 24,000 kg, is located in the fuselage (up to 12,000 kg) and on four external hardpoints on nine-lock beam holders MBDZ-U9-502 (typical bomb load options - 69 FAB-250 or eight FAB-1500). In the future, it is possible to arm the Tu-22M-3 aircraft with high-precision guided bombs, as well as new missiles for hitting ground and sea targets.
Defensive weapons - two GSh-23 cannons (23 mm, Tu-22M-2) or one GSh-23 cannon with a shortened block of barrels mounted vertically and having a rate of fire increased to 4000 rounds/min. Cannon fire control is remote, via television and radar channels.
PROGRAM STATUS. It is in serial production.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. Work on the creation of a long-range missile-carrying bomber "1-45" with a variable geometry wing was started at the A.N. Design Bureau. Tupolev in 1965. The aircraft was seen as a further development of the "106" aircraft line, aimed at increasing the speed, range and improving the takeoff and landing characteristics of the original aircraft. In a certain sense, work on the "106" aircraft was an evolution of the theme of the Tu-22 aircraft and provided for equipping the aircraft with more powerful advanced engines.
The idea of the creators of the 145 aircraft was to integrate the well-developed airframe, on-board systems and weapons of the Tu-22 bomber with a variable-sweep wing and advanced engines created for the supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-144. However, later, according to the recommendations of TsAGI, as well as due to the desire to improve the technical and operational characteristics of the machine, the engines, located in separate engine nacelles in the rear of the aircraft, were “lowered” into the fuselage, and adjustable air intakes with long air channels were placed on the sides of the fuselage . The aircraft was equipped with a new tricycle landing gear, the main struts of which, made according to a lever-balancer design, were retracted into the wing and fuselage (and not into the wing nacelles, as on the Tu-22).
By the time the technical design of the "145" (Tu-22M) aircraft was completed, all that remained of the original Tu-22 was, in fact, only a bomb bay capable of holding up to 12,000 kg of ammunition. Essentially, a new machine was created that met the requirements for a long-range bomber of the 70s, designed to solve two main tasks: striking strategic goals(within the continent) and destruction of large naval targets (primarily aircraft carrier strike groups and formations).
The first flight of the experimental Tu-22M-0 bomber took place on August 30, 1969 (crew commander - test pilot V. Borisov). In July 1971 at Kazansky aircraft factory began building a small series (nine units) of Tu-22M-1 aircraft, state tests of which were completed only in 1975. But already in 1972, without waiting for their completion, large-scale production began new modification bomber Tu-22M-2, equipped with an NK-22 turbofan engine (a further development of the NK-144-22). During testing, the aircraft developed maximum speed 1800 km/h and showed a range of 5100 km. The armament consisted of one Kh-22M missile, semi-recessed in the fuselage. In addition, in the overload version, the self-propelled aircraft could carry two more missiles of this type. The cargo compartment and four external suspension units could accommodate up to 21,000 kg of free-fall bombs with a caliber of 250-3000 kg. Defense of the rear hemisphere was provided by two remote-controlled 23-mm GSh-23L cannons in the UKU-9K-502 installation.
In 1975, the Tu-22M-2 began to enter combat units, and the following year the bomber was officially adopted by the Soviet Air Force. The Kazan Aviation Plant produced 211 Tu-22M-2.
Based on the NK-22 turbofan engine, the N. Kuznetsov Design Bureau developed a new, more powerful and economical three-shaft engine with electronic system control NK-25. In 1974, it was installed on a specially converted Tu-22M-2 aircraft, designated Tu-22M-2E.
In 1977, under the NK-25, the next modification of the bomber was created - the Tu-22M-3. The aircraft had a new air intake with a horizontal wedge, which provided the engine best conditions work. The aerodynamics of the bomber were improved by giving the nose of the fuselage, extended by 0.8 m, sharper contours. In addition, in accordance with the protocol of the SALT-2 agreement, the fuel receiver rod of the in-flight refueling system was dismantled. To achieve higher speed characteristics, the maximum wing sweep angle was increased from 60° to 65°. It was possible to lighten a number of power elements of the airframe; in order to reduce weight, they also abandoned the extension of the middle pair of wheels of the main landing gear (practice has shown that the operation of Tu-22M class aircraft from unpaved runways is a very questionable matter), instead of two GSh-23 cannons in a narrower tail parts of the fuselage left only one cannon. The wing structure was somewhat strengthened. The bomber was equipped with an electrical system AC stable frequency, including hydromechanical drive-generators of constant speed (this made it possible to abandon bulky electric machine converters). In the DC system, contactless generators and batteries of a new design appeared. The air conditioning system has become more compact and efficient, changed in better side crew cabin layout.
The missile armament of the Tu-22M-3 was significantly strengthened compared to its predecessor: in addition to the Kh-22MA cruise missiles, the aircraft received short-range aeroballistic missiles (six ABMs were placed on a drum multi-position launcher in the fuselage and four more on external hardpoints) .
The first flight of the Tu-22M-3 took place on June 20, 1977, and in 1989 the aircraft was adopted by the Air Force. Compared to the Tu-22M-2, the new bomber had a 14-45% (depending on the flight profile) greater tactical range. When based at a distance of 800 km from the front line, the depth of combat operations of the Tu-22M-3 increased by 20% when flying along an altitude profile and by 170% when flying at low altitude. The total combat effectiveness of the Tu-22M-3 has increased by 2.2 times compared to the Tu-22M-2.
In 1985, based on the Tu 22M-3, the Tu-22MR reconnaissance aircraft was created, which was transferred into mass production in 1989. The reconnaissance aircraft, intended for operations on land and sea theaters of operations, received an annapatura complex, including a side-view radar located in a gondola under the fuselage, an electronic reconnaissance system, a thermal imaging reconnaissance system, and also photo reconnaissance equipment. 12 aircraft were built or converted into reconnaissance variants from Tu-22M-3 bombers. Similarly, since 1994, some Tu-22M-2 bombers have been upgraded into reconnaissance aircraft.
An airplane was created electronic countermeasures Tu-22MP, also a development of the Tu-22M-2.
Thus, to date, 497 Tu-22M aircraft have been built (ten Tu-22M-0, nine Tu-22M-1, 211 Tu-22M-2, as well as 268 Tu-22M-3 and their modifications).
The Russian Air Force has 130 Tu-22M aircraft. Another 105 vehicles of this type were available in naval aviation. As a result of the reduction in Russian aviation, only Tu-22M-3 bombers and their variants will remain in service. Ukraine has 55 Tu-22M aircraft in its air force.
Possibility of sale was considered export version Tu-22M-3 aircraft foreign countries(as potential buyers countries such as Iran and China were named), but for a number of political reasons, to date, not a single contract has been concluded.
The Tu-22M-2 and Tu-22M-3 aircraft were used at the final stage of the war in Afghanistan in 1987-1989, where they carried out powerful bombing attacks on concentrations of enemy troops (in particular, high-power FAB-3000 bombs were used).
Currently, the A.N. Tupolev ASTC is working on further modernization of the Tu-22M-3 bomber. It is planned to equip the aircraft with new high-precision weapon systems, improve avionics (in particular, install a new radar), reduce radar noticeability
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DEVELOPER. ANTK im. A.N. Tupolev.
The beginning of work on the program for creating the Tu-22M aircraft dates back to 1965, when the Design Bureau headed by A.N. Tupolev began proactive work on the radical modernization of the serial Tu-22K missile-carrying aircraft. At the first stage of work, a deep modernization of the basic design of the Tu-22K was envisaged with the introduction of a wing with variable sweep in flight and more powerful engines using a large amount of developments from the unrealized Tu-106 project (Tu-22M is the first with this name), while maintaining the basic layout solutions of the Tu-22K. After two years of work on the topic and a complete reworking of the project, the future Tu-22M (designation of the project by the OKB is aircraft “145”) receives official recognition, the scope of work on the project is expanding, the first prototype of the aircraft is being built, and on August 30, 1969 the first production vehicle of the Tu-22M0 installation series (nine aircraft were produced).
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For several years, the Design Bureau, together with the Kazan Serial Plant (now KAPO named after S.P. Gorbunov), enterprises and organizations of the MAP and the Air Force has been actively working to improve the aircraft and the complex. Modifications of the Tu-22M1 (10 aircraft were produced) and Tu-22M2 are being consistently created. The latter, after a series of fine-tuning and testing, was launched into a large series and in 1976 was adopted by Long-Range Aviation and Navy Aviation. In 1977, flight tests of the most advanced serial modification of the Tu-22M began - the Tu-22M3 aircraft, the flight-tactical characteristics of which were significantly improved compared to previous modifications.
The Tu-22M3 aircraft was created in accordance with the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 26, 1974 and with the plan to complete flight joint state tests of the Tu-22M aircraft with NK-25 engines in 1976. In order to further develop the aircraft, it was necessary The following main activities were carried out:
Replacement of NK-22 engines with NK-25 engines;
Improved airframe aerodynamics;
Reducing the empty weight of the aircraft;
Increased tactical and performance characteristics airplane;
Improving tactical and operational characteristics;
Elimination of comments on flight testing and operation of Tu-22M2 aircraft in units of Long-Range Aviation and Aviation of the USSR Navy.
To evaluate the effectiveness of these measures, two Tu-22M3 aircraft were built at the Kazan Aviation Plant: one based on the production Tu-22M2 aircraft, the second with an integral middle part of the wing. The first aircraft was built in Kazan in cooperation with Moscow machine-building plant"Experience" and the Kazan branch of the plant "Experience". Joint state tests to determine the performance characteristics of the aircraft were to be carried out by the Zhukovsk flight test base (ZhLI and DB) and the Air Force State Research Institute (now GLITs Air Force) with completion in the fourth quarter of 1976.
The Tu-22M3 aircraft for testing was built as a missile carrier version of the Kh-22MN type with the possibility of conversion into a bomber version.
The following main activities were carried out on the aircraft, which directly affected the flight performance:
NK-25 bypass turbojet engines with a maximum take-off afterburning thrust of 25,000 kgf were installed, with a specific fuel consumption in subsonic cruising mode (H = 11 km at a flight speed corresponding to M = 0.8, with afterburning thrust of 3,000 kgf) no more than 0, 76 kg/kgf.hour;
Air intakes with a vertical wedge were replaced with air intakes with a horizontal wedge;
Accordingly, the air intake control system was changed to a new one;
The angle of deflection of the rotating part of the wing (RPW) increased to 65 degrees, and rotary hydraulic units were removed into the contour of the fairings;
An extended nose fuselage was introduced with a modified in-flight fueling rod;
the aft installation with two double-barreled GSh-23 cannons was replaced with an installation of a better aerodynamic shape with one double-barreled GSh-23 cannon (the effectiveness of defense with the transition to one GSh-23 cannon and the strengthening of the REP system was assessed on a mock-up and during testing of the first flight samples);
Measures were introduced to improve the aerodynamics of the airframe (in particular, removable components were aerodynamically improved, cracks were sealed, fairings were changed following the example of improvements carried out on the lead aircraft Tu-22M1);
Measures were introduced to reduce the empty weight of the aircraft, including:
– structural (lightening the main landing gear, replacing wheels, installing a lightweight stabilizer and a shortened rudder, etc.);
– technological (replacement of soft thermal insulation, introduction of a primer with varnish instead of sealant, replacement of the material of fire barriers and tail drains with titanium, replacement of nipple joints of pipes with soldered ones, etc.);
– equipment (replacement of hydraulic pumps, generators, lightweight air conditioning system, transition to more heat-resistant wires, etc.);
– transition to the production of parts by stamping and casting with minus tolerances;
– a centralized alternating current system of stable frequency and a modernized direct current system were introduced.
Measures to reduce the weight of the empty aircraft (taking into account the increase in weight for the installation of heavier NK-25 engines and modifications) should have had an effect of 2300–2700 kg.
Otherwise, the systems of the lead Tu-22M3 aircraft were no different from the serial Tu-22M2.
Individual weight loss measures were supposed to be introduced directly into the series, after appropriate technological development and testing.
In the future, it was planned to introduce a system of improved electronic warfare equipment and equipment that would allow the use of missiles with passive guidance systems.
The first experimental Tu-22M3 entered testing in 1977, and on June 20, 1977, the crew led by Honored Test Pilot of the USSR A.D. Bessonov took this aircraft on its first flight. Starting from 1978, full-scale serial production of the Tu-22M3 was launched. Until 1983, both Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3 were in serial production in Kazan. Since 1984, only the Tu-22M3 was produced in the series. Production of the Tu-22M3 aircraft was discontinued in 1993.
Since the beginning of the 1980s, the Tu-22M3 began to enter service with Long-Range Aviation and Navy Aviation. After great job on testing and finishing the complex, as well as implementation new system missile weapons, Tu-22MZ was officially put into service in 1989 (in the first version of the missile armament, the complex was put into service in 1983). In total, since 1969, the country's aviation industry has produced about 500 Tu-22M aircraft of all modifications. In addition to missile-carrying bombers (Tu-22M0, Tu-22M1, Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3), the Design Bureau prepared several targeted projects for modifications of the basic design: a Tu-22MP jammer aircraft was built in a prototype, and a project for a long-range fighter was being developed. raider "Tu-22DP, in the 1980s the Design Bureau carried out work on a reconnaissance modification of the Tu-22M3 aircraft - the Tu-22M3R reconnaissance aircraft, launched into mass production in the early 1990s under the designation Tu-22MR. As a result of many years of work on the development of this type of aircraft, the OKB, together with other enterprises and organizations of the domestic military-industrial complex, managed to create a highly efficient aircraft in the class of middle-class long-range bombers, in the development of which today Russia is a monopolist and a recognized leader. All this, combined with good flight tactical and operational data, provides the Tu-22M3 with good export potential.
Currently, Tu-22M3 missile-carrying bombers and Tu-22MR reconnaissance aircraft are in operation in Long-Range Aviation and Navy aviation units, constituting a significant part of their strike power.
JSC Tupolev continues to work persistently on further development and modernization of aircraft of the Tu-22M family on ways to improve the carrier aircraft, in terms of its equipment and weapons systems.
Brief technical description Tu-22M3 aircraft
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The long-range multi-mode missile carrier-bomber Tu-22M3 is designed to carry out missile and bomb strikes in the operational zones of land and sea theaters of military operations against fixed and moving objects with guided missiles and aerial bombs, both individually and as part of a group of aircraft, at any time of the year and days, in simple and difficult weather conditions, when counteracting modern air defense systems and the use of electronic interference.
The aircraft's performance characteristics, its design, electronic equipment and missile and bomb armament ensure the destruction of optically visible and radar-contrast, single and area targets in land and sea theaters of military operations, in a wide range of aircraft speeds and altitudes. Tu-22M3 is capable of solving the following tasks:
Destruction (defeat) of military-industrial facilities in the deep operational rear of the theater of military operations,
Destruction (defeat) of objects and targets of the opposing operational-strategic group of troops, aviation and air defense,
Isolation of the enemy's combat area and strike forces from suitable operational-strategic reserves,
Destruction (defeat) of enemy naval groups in naval theaters of military operations,
Participation in operations of fronts, fleets, air forces and air defense forces,
Conducting aerial reconnaissance using standard onboard radio-electronic equipment and aerial photographic equipment,
Active and passive jamming of attacking aircraft, control and guidance systems of fighter-interceptor systems, as well as anti-aircraft guided missile systems.
In terms of its layout and design, the Tu-22M3 aircraft is a cantilever all-metal monoplane with a mid-mounted wing with variable sweep in flight, a single-tail tail unit and a tricycle retractable landing gear. The aircraft's crew consists of four people, located in pairs: in the front cockpit - two pilots (ship commander, assistant ship commander), in the rear - a navigator-navigator and a navigator-weapon systems operator.
The aircraft is equipped with two turbojet engines with afterburners (TRDDF) type NK-25 with a take-off maximum afterburning thrust of 25,000 kgf.
Onboard radio-electronic and flight navigation equipment of the aircraft (navigation complex NK-45, surveillance and sighting radar station PNA, optical-television bomber sight OPB-015T, automatic on-board control system ABSU-145M and missile weapons control system) provide automated solutions to navigation, aiming and flight tasks when flying according to a pre-programmed or operationally entered program, as well as bombing and missile launching.
The Tu-22M3 aircraft can carry X-22 type air-to-surface guided missiles with various options guidance systems and warheads, on beam holders inside the cargo compartment and at two external suspension points under the wing (1, or 2, or 3), as well as up to ten aeroballistic missiles on an intra-fuselage multi-position ejection mount and on two wing ejection mounts. On beam and cluster bomb holders located inside the cargo compartment and on external suspension units, bombs of 100, 250, 500, 1500 and 3000 kg calibers and aircraft mines in the dimensions of 500 kg caliber bombs can be placed. The maximum bomb load is 24 tons.
To protect the rear hemisphere of the aircraft from attacks by fighters, the Tu-22M3 is equipped with cannon defensive weapons installed in the aft fuselage and consisting of a GSh-23 cannon, a 4DK radar gun sight, a TP-1KM television sight and a VB-157A-5 computer unit.
The combat survivability and flight safety of the Tu-22M3 are ensured by relatively small radio-electronic and infrared signatures for this class of aircraft (airframe layout, high-bypass engines, optimization of operating modes of antenna-feeder systems for navigation, communications and sighting equipment). The presence of an electronic countermeasures complex (Ural-M) and an APP-22MS passive jammer, cannon defensive weapons, the cannon ammunition of which can include cartridges with IR and radar decoys. The presence of a system for filling the super-fuel space in fuel tanks with neutral gas, a fire extinguishing system in the aircraft compartments, auxiliary power plant, redundancy of many major aircraft systems and equipment. Availability of an emergency escape system for the aircraft crew from zero altitude to the practical ceiling using ejection seats of the KT-1M type.
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