The number of Tu 160 in the Russian army. Aircraft "White Swan": specifications and photos

Tu-160 with increased swept wings Supersonic flight

Tu-160 strategic bomber bomber recognized flagship Russian distant aviation! In Russia he is called White Swan! On Tu-160 established 44 world records! He is able to carry 45 tons of rockets and bombs different class! This 24 hypersonic missiles, 12 strategic cruise missiles missiles, guided bombs caliber up to 1.5 tons. Tu-160 has enough high maneuverability. He is able to fly at low altitude with contouring terrain ! When flying Tu-160 in this mode to bring down it's enough difficult! On board Tu-160 installed about 100 electronic computers cars! Fuel on Tu-160 not like that How on ordinary airplanes. It nitrided and burns only in engines plane! Design fuel tanks is that they divided into parts respectively when breaking through one tank no fuel wasted plane! Maximum speed Tu-160 - 2 speeds of sound at high altitude ( 2500 kilometers per hour or 695 meters per second)!

First once the plane took off at the end of 1981 of the year. Tu-160 was accepted for serial production more before passing all flight tests. Such a rush was caused by the What Americans at that point in time has already been released strategic supersonic missile carrier B-1 B. IN 1988 year Tu-160 was accepted into armament.

Flight characteristics of the Tu-160 much improved, compared to other aircraft of this class, due to such an element in the design of the aircraft as, variable wing geometry! Variable wing geometry - This sweep angle change wings directly in flight. On Tu-160 variable wing geometry has been applied for the first time in the USSR, on heavy strategic missile carrier. At a minimum wing sweep significantly run length is reduced aircraft on takeoff And run length at landing, A at maximum wing sweep is achieved maximum speed flight.

In the manufacture Tu-160 for improvement by weight And strength characteristics was titanium is used. During the production of this aircraft in the USSR for the first time special vacuum welding with an electron beam.

Some technical characteristics of the Tu-160: maximum speed flight at a minimum altitude of 1,300 kilometers per hour; cruising speed 917 kilometers per hour; maximum takeoff weight - 275 tons; empty airplane 110 tons; maximum weight fuel 148 tons; 4 engine thrust of 25 tons per second each; maximum height flight 21 000 meters; maximum range flight without refueling in the air 13 300 kilometers; maximum time finding in the air without refueling 15 hours; the aircraft is equipped air refueling system. For takeoff Tu-160 fit band, long from 1 700 meters .

At times USSR was put forward idea, build 100 aircraft Tu-160 on Kazan aircraft factory , but these plans not destined was come true. After the collapse USSR 21 airplane Tu-160 remained in Ukraine at the strategic airbase in Priluki. At that moment time Russian leadership basically doubted what are planes generally needed country. started difficult negotiations with Ukraine on the transfer of aircraft to Russia. IN 1999 year managed to agree on transmission 8 aircraft Tu-160, in exchange for forgiveness Ukraine debt behind oil products. Rest aircraft to 1999 year Ukraine already managed to cut for scrap metal! On moment of time 2015 year Russia It has about 20 aircraft Tu-160.

Strategic supersonic bomber bomber Tu-160 was conceived like an airplane capable of flying combat actions like in the nuclear so in non-nuclear war. He must overcome long distances to the borders enemy at subsonic speed and pass air defense enemy on supersonic speed! strategic bomber bombers, including Tu-160, always on combat missions fly in pairs!

More in the 1970s years in USSR developed projects strategic missile carriers hypersonic flying speed on hydrogen fuel. IN THE USA adopted program creation hypersonic strategic missile carrier by 2025 year !

Supersonic Russian bomber White Swan (Tu-160)

The Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber (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 was put into service. According to some reports, a total of 35 aircraft were built, but only 16 aircraft are currently in operation, the rest of the aircraft are disabled.

The aircraft has a combat radius of 6,000 km (without in-flight 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 was named the White Swan due to its maneuverability and white special coloring.
The main combat purpose of the aircraft is the delivery of nuclear and conventional bombs and missiles to deep continental theaters of war.

The aircraft is all-weather, with unlimited day-night capabilities and can be operated and perform combat missions in all geographical latitudes.
Tu-160 engines are installed in two rows under the wings. Air intakes have vertical valves - wings.
The aircraft 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. In the non-working position, the refueling probe retracts into the forward fuselage in front of the cockpit.
The aircraft 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 mainly for the delivery of cruise missiles. Recognizing the success of the B-1 in Afghanistan and Iraq with smart bombs, the Tu-160 was modified 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 upgraded Tu-160s. According to official figures, at least 16 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, heavy bomber designed to strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional weapons in deep continental theaters of war. The upgraded version, called the Tu-160M, has a new weapon system, improved electronics and avionics that double its 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.

Specifications 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 takeoff weight: 267,600 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 275,000 kg
Engines: 4 × turbofan NK-32
Thrust maximum: 4 × 18000 kgf
Afterburner thrust: 4 × 25000 kgf
Mass of fuel, kg 148000

Flight characteristics of the Tu-160 strategic bomber:

Maximum speed at altitude: 2230 km / h (1.87M)
Cruise speed: 917 km/h (0.77 M)
Maximum flight range without refueling: 13950 km
Practical flight range without refueling: 12300 km
Combat radius: 6000 km
Flight duration: 25 h
Practical ceiling: 15,000
Rate of climb: 4400 m/min
Takeoff run 900 m
Run length 2000 m
at maximum takeoff weight: 1185 kg/m²
at normal takeoff weight: 1150 kg/m²
Thrust-to-weight ratio:
at maximum takeoff weight: 0.37
at normal takeoff weight: 0.36

Tu-160(according to NATO classification Blackjack) - supersonic bomber, which has a variable sweep wing, was created by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1980s. It has been in service since 1987. The Russian Air Force currently has 16 Tu-160 strategic missile carriers..

This aircraft is the largest supersonic aircraft and aircraft with variable geometry wing in the history of military aviation, as well as the heaviest among all combat aircraft in the world. Tu-160 has the largest maximum take-off weight among all existing bombers. Among Russian pilots, the aircraft has the nickname "White Swan".

Initially, it was going to be armed with Kh-45 high-speed missiles, but later this idea was abandoned, giving preference to small-sized Kh-55 subsonic cruise missiles, as well as Kh-15 aeroballistic hypersonic missiles, which were placed on multi-position launchers inside the hull.

The final assembly of the first prototype was made in January 1981, the Tu-160 aircraft with the numbers "70-1" and "70-3" were intended for flight tests, and the aircraft with the number "70-02" for static tests.

The first flight of the aircraft with serial number "70-01" took place on December 18, 1981(the crew commander was B.I. Veremey), and on October 6, 1984, a car with serial number "70-03" took off, which already had a complete set of serial bomber equipment. After another 2 years, on August 15, 1986, the 4th serial bomber left the gates of the assembly shop in Kazan, which became the first combatant. In total, 8 aircraft of two experimental series were involved in the performance of flight tests.

During the state tests, which were completed in mid-1989, 4 successful launches of X-55 cruise missiles, which were the main weapon of the vehicle, were carried out from the bomber-missile carrier. The maximum horizontal flight speed was also achieved, amounting to almost 2200 km / h. At the same time, during the operation, it was decided to limit the speed threshold to a speed of 2000 km / h, which was mainly due to the preservation of the resource of the propulsion system and airframe.

Currently, most of the Russian Tu-160s have individual names. For example, the Air Force has the Ilya Muromets aircraft (this was the name of the world's first heavy bomber, which was built in Russia in 1913), Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Yarygin, Vasily Reshetnikov.

The high performance of the Russian strategic bomber was confirmed by setting 44 world records. In particular, with a payload of 30 tons, the aircraft flew along a closed route of 1,000 km at a speed of 1,720 km/h. And in flight at a distance of 2000 km, having a takeoff weight of 275 tons, the aircraft was able to reach an average speed of 1678 km / h, as well as a flight altitude of 11250 m.

During serial production, the bomber was subjected to a number of improvements, which were determined by the experience of its operation. For example, the number of valves for feeding aircraft engines was increased, which made it possible to increase the stability of the turbojet engine with an afterburner and simplify their controllability. The replacement of a number of structural elements from metal to carbon fiber allowed to some extent to reduce the weight of the aircraft. The hatches of the operator and navigator were equipped with rear-view periscopes, the software was also finalized and changes were made to the hydraulic system.

As part of the implementation of a multi-stage program to reduce radar visibility, a special graphite radar-absorbing coating was applied to the channels of the air intakes and shells, and the nose of the aircraft was also covered with radar-absorbing paint. It was possible to implement measures to shield the engines. The introduction of mesh filters into the cockpit glazing made it possible to eliminate the re-reflection of radar radiation from its internal surfaces.

To date, the Tu-160 strategic bomber-missile carrier is the most powerful combat vehicle in the world. In terms of the composition of weapons and its main characteristics, it significantly surpasses the American counterpart - the multi-mode strategic bomber V-1V "Lancer". It is assumed that further work to improve the Tu-160, in particular, the expansion and renewal of the armament, as well as the installation of a new avionics, will further increase its potential.

Design features

The Tu-160 bomber is made according to the normal aerodynamic configuration with variable wing geometry. A design feature of the airframe of the aircraft is an integrated circuit of the aerodynamic layout, according to which the fixed part of the wing forms a single whole with the fuselage. This decision made it possible to make the best use of the internal volumes of the airframe for accommodating fuel, cargo, various equipment, as well as to reduce the number of structural joints, which led to a decrease in the weight of the structure.

The bomber airframe is made mainly from aluminum alloys (B-95 and AK-4, heat-treated to increase the resource). The wing consoles are made of titanium and high-strength aluminum alloys and are attached to hinges that allow changing the wing sweep in the range from 20 to 65 degrees. The proportion of titanium alloys in the mass of the bomber airframe is 20%, fiberglass is also used, glued three-layer structures are widely used.

The crew of the bomber, consisting of 4 people, is located in a single spacious pressurized cabin. In front of it, there are seats for the first and second pilots, as well as for the navigator-operator and navigator. All crew members are placed in K-36DM ejection seats. To increase the efficiency of operators and pilots during a long flight, the seatbacks are equipped with pillows with pulsating air for massage. At the rear of the cockpit is a small-sized kitchen, a folding bunk for rest and a toilet. Aircraft of late production models were equipped with a built-in ladder.

The aircraft landing gear is tricycle, with 2 steerable wheels of the front support. The main landing gear has an oscillating suspension strut and is behind the bomber's center of gravity. They have pneumatic shock absorbers and three-axle bogies with 6 wheels. The landing gear retracts into small niches in the fuselage back along the bomber's flight. Shields and aerodynamic deflectors, designed to press air against the runway, are responsible for protecting the engine air intakes from dirt and precipitation.

The power plant Tu-160 includes 4 bypass turbojet engines with an afterburner NK-32(created by OKB N.D. Kuznetsov). Engines have been mass-produced in Samara since 1986, until the mid-1990s they had no analogues in the world. NK-32 is one of the world's first mass-produced engines, during the design of which measures were taken to reduce infrared and radar visibility.

The aircraft engines are located in pairs in the engine nacelles and are separated from each other by special fireproof partitions. The motors operate independently of each other. To implement an autonomous power supply, a separate auxiliary gas turbine power plant was also installed on the Tu-160.

The Tu-160 bomber is equipped with a PRNA sighting and navigation system, consisting of an optoelectronic bomber sight, a surveillance and sighting radar, an INS, a SNS, an astrocorrector and the Baikal airborne defense system (containers with dipole reflectors and IR traps, a heat direction finder). There is also a multi-channel digital communication complex, which is interfaced with satellite systems. More than 100 special computers are involved in the bomber's avionics.

In the tail cone there are containers with chaff and IR traps. In the cockpit there are standard electromechanical devices, which are generally similar to those installed on the Tu-22M3. The heavy machine is controlled using the control stick (joystick), as on fighter jets.

The armament of the aircraft is located in 2 intra-fuselage cargo compartments, which can contain a variety of payloads with a total weight of up to 40 tons. The armament can consist of 12 X-55 subsonic cruise missiles on 2 drum-type multi-position launchers, as well as up to 24 X-15 hypersonic missiles on 4 launchers. To destroy small-sized tactical targets, the aircraft can use corrected aerial bombs (KAB) weighing up to 1500 kg. Also, the aircraft can carry up to 40 tons of conventional free-fall bombs.

In the future, the weapon system of a strategic bomber can be significantly enhanced by including new high-precision cruise missiles, for example, the X-555, designed to destroy both tactical and strategic ground and sea targets of almost all possible classes.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Tu-160:

Dimensions:
- maximum wing span - 55.7 m, minimum - 35.6 m;
- length - 54.1 m;
- height - 13.2 m;
Wing area - 360.0 sq. m.
Aircraft weight:
– empty – 110.000 kg
- normal takeoff - 267.600 kg
- maximum takeoff - 275.000 kg
Engine type - 4 turbofans NK-32;
- non-afterburning thrust -4x137.2 kN;
- afterburner thrust - 4x247.5 kN.
Maximum speed at altitude - 2230 km / h;
Cruising speed - 917 km / h;
Practical flight range without refueling: 12.300 km;
Combat radius: 6.000 km;
Practical ceiling - 15.000 m;
Crew - 4 people

Armament: in two ventral compartments there is a different target load with a total mass of 22,500 kg, maximum - up to 40,000 kg. The armament includes tactical and strategic cruise missiles X-55 and X-55M, as well as short-range aeroballistic hypersonic missiles X-15 (M = 5) with nuclear and non-nuclear warheads, as well as KAB corrected aerial bombs of various types up to KAB-1500 , conventional types of bombs, as well as mines.

Who is destined to crawl, cannot fly (c). That is OK. However, the planes are amazing, especially combat ones. They combine charm and craving for weapons and endless misunderstanding of the soul, how such a mass can fly so gracefully! I propose to look at interesting photos and learn something new about the pride of Soviet / Russian aviation.

Tu-160 (NATO classification Blackjack) is a supersonic missile-carrying bomber with a variable sweep wing, created by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1980s. It has been in service since 1987. The Russian Air Force currently has 16 Tu-160 strategic missile carriers. This aircraft is the largest supersonic aircraft and aircraft with variable geometry wing in the history of military aviation, as well as the heaviest among all combat aircraft in the world. Tu-160 has the largest maximum take-off weight among all existing bombers. Among Russian pilots, the aircraft has the nickname "White Swan".

Work on the creation of a new generation strategic bomber was started in the Design Bureau of A. N. Tupolev in 1968. In 1972, the project of a multi-mode bomber with a variable sweep wing was ready; Kuznetsov began work on the creation of engines for the new aircraft. Initially, it was going to be armed with Kh-45 high-speed missiles, but later this idea was abandoned, giving preference to small-sized Kh-55 subsonic cruise missiles, as well as Kh-15 aeroballistic hypersonic missiles, which were placed on multi-position launchers inside the hull.

First plane.

The impetus for the development of the project of a new strategic bomber was the beginning of work in the United States on the project of the future B-1. Two aviation design bureaus began designing the aircraft: the Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi (Moscow Engineering Plant "Kulon") and the newly restored Design Bureau of V.M .Myasishchev (EMZ - Experimental Machine-Building Plant, located in Zhukovsky). The Design Bureau of A.N. Tupolev (Moscow Engineering Plant "Experience") was loaded with other topics and, most likely, for this reason, was not involved in work on a new strategic bomber at this stage.

A competition was announced. By the beginning of the 70s, both teams, based on the requirements of the assignment received and the preliminary tactical and technical requirements of the Air Force, prepared their projects. Both design bureaus offered four-engine aircraft with a variable sweep wing, but with completely different schemes. The M-18 Myasishchev Design Bureau was recognized as the winner in the 1972 competition.

However, this design bureau (just revived) did not have its own production base and there was nowhere to turn the aircraft into metal. The Sukhoga Design Bureau specialized in fighters and front-line bombers. After a series of intrigues at the government level, Tupolev was instructed to build a strategic bomber, to whose design bureau they transferred design documentation from the Myasishchev and Sukhoi Design Bureau

The TTZ for the aircraft also changed, because At that time, negotiations on SALT (limitation of strategic arms) were intensively going on. In the seventies, a new weapon appeared - long-range low-altitude cruise missiles (over 2500 km), flying around the terrain. This radically changed the strategy for using strategic bombers.

The full-scale layout of the new bomber was approved in 1977. In the same year, at the experimental production of MMZ "Experience" in Moscow, they began to assemble a batch of 3 experimental machines. The wing and stabilizers for them were produced in Novosibirsk, the fuselage was manufactured in Kazan, landing gear - in Gorky. The final assembly of the first prototype was made in January 1981, the Tu-160 aircraft with the numbers "70-1" and "70-3" were intended for flight tests, and the aircraft with the number "70-02" for static tests.

On December 18, 1981, the first flight of the TU-160 multi-mode strategic bomber took place.

The first flight of the aircraft with serial number "70-01" took place on December 18, 1981 (crew commander was B. I. Veremey), and on October 6, 1984, a car with serial number "70-03" took off, which already had a complete set serial bomber equipment. After another 2 years, on August 15, 1986, the 4th serial bomber left the gates of the assembly shop in Kazan, which became the first combatant. In total, 8 aircraft of two experimental series were involved in the performance of flight tests.

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The first 2 experimental Tu-160 strategic bombers were included in the Air Force combat unit on April 17, 1987. After the collapse of the USSR, almost all the production vehicles available at that time (19 bombers) remained on the territory of Ukraine, at the airbase in the city of Pryluky. In 1992, bombers of this type began to enter service with the 1st TBAP of the Russian Air Force, which was based in Engels. By the end of 1999, there were 6 Tu-160 aircraft at this airbase, another part of the aircraft was in Kazan (under assembly) and at the airfield in Zhukovsky. Currently, most of the Russian Tu-160s have individual names. For example, the Air Force has the Ilya Muromets aircraft (this was the name of the world's first heavy bomber, which was built in Russia in 1913), Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Yarygin, Vasily Reshetnikov.

Clickable 1920 px

The high performance of the Russian strategic bomber was confirmed by setting 44 world records. In particular, with a payload of 30 tons, the aircraft flew along a closed route 1000 km long. at a speed of 1720 km / h. And in flight at a distance of 2000 km., With a takeoff weight of 275 tons, the aircraft was able to reach an average speed of 1678 km / h, as well as a flight altitude of 11,250 m.

Clickable 1920 px who on the wallpaper ....

The crew of the bomber, consisting of 4 people, is located in a single spacious pressurized cabin. In front of it, there are seats for the first and second pilots, as well as for the navigator-operator and navigator. All crew members are placed in K-36DM ejection seats. To increase the efficiency of operators and pilots during a long flight, the seatbacks are equipped with pillows with pulsating air for massage. At the rear of the cockpit is a small-sized kitchen, a folding bunk for rest and a toilet. Aircraft of late production models were equipped with a built-in ladder.

The landing gear of the aircraft is tricycle with 2 steerable wheels of the front support. The main landing gear has an oscillating suspension strut and is behind the bomber's center of gravity. They have pneumatic shock absorbers and three-axle bogies with 6 wheels. The landing gear retracts into small niches in the fuselage back along the bomber's flight. Shields and aerodynamic deflectors, designed to press air against the runway, are responsible for protecting the engine air intakes from dirt and precipitation.

The Tu-160 power plant includes 4 bypass turbojet engines with an afterburner NK-32 (created by the Design Bureau of N. D. Kuznetsov). Engines have been mass-produced in Samara since 1986, until the mid-1990s they had no analogues in the world. NK-32 is one of the world's first serial engines, during the design of which measures were taken to reduce infrared and radar visibility. The aircraft engines are located in pairs in the engine nacelles and are separated from each other by special fireproof partitions. The motors operate independently of each other. To implement an autonomous power supply, a separate auxiliary gas turbine power plant was also installed on the Tu-160.

Clickable 2200 px

The Tu-160 bomber is equipped with a PRNA sighting and navigation system, consisting of an optoelectronic bomber sight, a surveillance and sighting radar, an INS, a SNS, an astrocorrector and the Baikal airborne defense system (containers with dipole reflectors and IR traps, a heat direction finder). There is also a multi-channel digital communication complex, which is interfaced with satellite systems. More than 100 special computers are involved in the bomber's avionics.

The strategic bomber's onboard defense system guarantees the detection and classification of enemy air defense radars, determination of their coordinates and their subsequent disorientation by decoys or suppression by powerful active jamming. For bombing, the Thunderstorm sight is used, which ensures the defeat of various targets with high accuracy in daylight conditions and in low light levels. The direction finder for detecting missiles and enemy aircraft from the rear hemisphere is located in the rearmost part of the fuselage. In the tail cone there are containers with chaff and IR traps. In the cockpit there are standard electromechanical devices, which are generally similar to those installed on the Tu-22M3. The heavy machine is controlled using the control stick (joystick), as on fighter jets.

The armament of the aircraft is located in 2 intra-fuselage cargo compartments, which can contain a variety of target load with a total weight of up to 40 tons. The armament can consist of 12 X-55 subsonic cruise missiles on 2 drum-type multi-position launchers, as well as up to 24 X-15 hypersonic missiles on 4 launchers. To destroy small-sized tactical targets, the aircraft can use corrected aerial bombs (KAB) weighing up to 1500 kg. Also, the aircraft can carry up to 40 tons of conventional free-fall bombs. In the future, the weapon system of a strategic bomber can be significantly enhanced by including new high-precision cruise missiles, for example, the X-555, designed to destroy both tactical and strategic ground and sea targets of almost all possible classes.

Once the famous aircraft designer Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev said that only beautiful planes fly well. The Tu-160 strategic supersonic bomber was supposedly created specifically to confirm these winged words. Almost immediately, this aircraft received the nickname "White Swan" among the pilots, which soon became almost the official name of this unique aircraft.

The Tu-160 "White Swan" (Blackjack according to NATO codification) was created at the turn of the 70-80s of the last century, at the height of the Cold War. This is a strategic supersonic missile carrier with variable wing geometry, capable of overcoming air defense lines at ultra-low altitudes. The creation of these aircraft was a response to the American AMSA program, in which the no less famous "strategist" B-1 Lancer was built. And, it should be noted that the answer from the Soviet designers turned out to be simply wonderful. The speed of the Tu-160 is one and a half times higher than that of its American counterpart, the flight range and combat radius are about the same times greater.

On its first flight, the White Swan set off on December 18, 1981, and the car was accepted into service in 1987. In total, 35 Tu-160s were manufactured during serial production, because these aircraft are not very cheap. The cost of one bomber in 1993 prices was 250 million US dollars.

The Tu-160 bomber can be called the real pride of Russian military aviation. Today, the White Swan is the heaviest and largest combat aircraft in the world. Each Tu-160 has its own name. They are named after famous pilots, heroes, aircraft designers or athletes.

In early 2015, Sergei Shoigu announced plans to resume production of the Tu-160 aircraft. It is planned that the first machine will be handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces in the next decade. Today, the Russian military space forces are 16 Tu-160.

History of creation

In the 60s of the last century, the Soviet Union actively invested in the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles, practically not paying attention to strategic aviation. The result of such a policy was a noticeable lag of the USSR from a potential adversary: by the beginning of the 70s, the Soviet Air Force was armed only with obsolete Tu-95 and M-4 aircraft, which had practically no chance of overcoming a serious air defense system.

Around the same time, work was in full swing in the United States on the creation of a new strategic bomber (project AMSA). Not wanting to be inferior to the West in anything, the USSR decided to create a similar machine. The corresponding resolution of the Council of Ministers was issued in 1967.

The military put forward very stringent requirements for the future car:

The flight range of the aircraft at an altitude of 18 thousand meters and at a speed of 2.2-2.5 thousand km / h was supposed to be 11-13 thousand km;
The bomber had to be able to approach the target at subsonic speed, and then overcome the enemy air defense line at cruising speed near the ground itself or in high-altitude supersonic flight;
The range of the bomber in subsonic mode was to be 11-13 thousand km near the ground and 16-18 thousand km at high altitude;
The mass of the combat load is about 45 tons.

Initially, the Myasishchev Design Bureau and the Sukhoi Design Bureau took part in the development of the new bomber. The Tupolev Design Bureau was not involved in the project. Most often, the reason for this is the excessive workload of the Tupolevs, but there is another version: at that time, the relationship between Andrei Tupolev and the top leadership of the country was not in the best way, so his design bureau was in a certain disgrace. One way or another, but initially the Tupolev team did not take part in the development of the new machine.

The Sukhoi Design Bureau presented to the commission an advance design of the T-4MS aircraft (“product 200”). In the course of work on this machine, the designers used a huge backlog obtained in the process of creating a unique T-4 aircraft (“product 100”). Many layout options for the future bomber were worked out, but in the end, the designers settled on the “flying wing” scheme. To achieve the performance characteristics required by the customer, the wing had a variable sweep (rotary consoles).

Having carefully studied the requirements of the military for the future attack aircraft and having carried out numerous studies, the Myasishchev Design Bureau also came up with a variant of the aircraft with variable wing geometry. However, unlike their opponents, the designers of the bureau proposed using the traditional layout of the aircraft. Since 1968, the Myasishchev Design Bureau has been working on the creation of a multi-mode heavy missile-carrying aircraft (“Theme 20”), designed to solve three different tasks. Accordingly, three modifications of the machine were developed.

The first version was conceived as an aircraft for delivering nuclear strikes against enemy strategic targets, the second modification was conceived to destroy enemy transoceanic transports, and the third - to detect and destroy strategic submarines in remote areas of the oceans.

Having behind them the experience of working on the "topic 20", the designers of the Myasishchev Design Bureau "issued to the mountain" the project of the M-18 heavy bomber. The layout of this aircraft largely repeated the outlines of the American B-1 and, perhaps, therefore, it was considered the most promising.

In 1969, the military put forward new requirements for a promising aircraft, and only from that moment the Tupolev Design Bureau (MMZ "Experience") joined the project. The Tupolev team had significant experience in the development of heavy supersonic aircraft; it was in this design bureau that the Tu-144 was created - the beauty and pride of Soviet passenger aviation. Previously, Tu-22 and Tu-22M bombers were created here. The Tupolev Design Bureau joined the development of a promising jet bomber back in the late 60s, but initially their project was considered out of competition. The future Tupolev bomber was developed on the basis of the passenger Tu-144.

In 1972, a presentation of projects took place, three design bureaus took part in it: Myasishchev, Sukhoi and Tupolev. Sukhoi's plane was rejected almost immediately - the idea of \u200b\u200busing the "flying wing" as a supersonic strategic bomber looked painfully unusual and futuristic in those years. The receivers liked the Myasishchevsky M-18 much more, besides, it almost completely corresponded to the characteristics declared by the military. The Tupolev machine did not receive support "due to non-compliance with the specified requirements."

In numerous materials and publications dedicated to this truly historic competition, the employees of the Myasishchev Design Bureau invariably call themselves the official winners. However, the truth is that the commission did not name it that way, limiting itself to only some recommendations on the further continuation of work. On their basis, appropriate conclusions were drawn, and soon a decree of the Council of Ministers of the country appeared, which prescribed that the Tupolev Design Bureau would complete the bomber project. The fact was that Myasishchev's design bureau at that time simply did not have the necessary scientific and production base to complete the work. In addition, the significant experience that the Tupolev team had in creating heavy supersonic aircraft was taken into account. One way or another, all the developments made by the contestants earlier were transferred to the Tupolev Design Bureau.

After 1972, work began on fine-tuning the future Tu-160: the aircraft scheme was worked out, new solutions were searched for the power plant of the machine, optimal materials were selected, and on-board equipment systems were created. The project was so complex and large-scale that it was under the control of the Minister of Aviation Industry, and his deputies were in charge of coordinating the work. More than 800 Soviet enterprises were involved in its implementation to one degree or another.

The first flight of an experimental machine took place on December 18, 1981, on the eve of the anniversary of the Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev. In total, three aircraft were built at the MMZ "Experience" for testing. The second prototype took off only in 1984. American space intelligence almost immediately "detected" the beginning of the tests of the new Soviet bomber and monitored the progress of the tests continuously. The future missile carrier received the NATO designation RAM-P, and later its own name - Blackjack. Soon the first photos of the Soviet "strategist" appeared in the Western press.

In 1984, the serial production of the White Swans was launched at the Kazan Aviation Plant. October 10, 1984 the first production aircraft took to the air. The following year, the second and third aircraft took off, and in 1986, the fourth. Until 1992, 35 Tu-160 aircraft were manufactured.

Production and operation

The first two Tu-160s were handed over to the Soviet Air Force in 1987.

In 1992, Russia was going through hard times of the economic crisis. There was no money in the budget, and a lot of it was needed for the production of the Tu-160. Therefore, the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, suggested that the United States stop producing the White Swans if the Americans stop producing the B-2.

At the time of the collapse of the USSR, 19 Tu-160s were located on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR (Priluki). Independent Ukraine, which has renounced nuclear weapons, absolutely did not need these planes. In the late 90s, eight Ukrainian Tu-160 bombers were transferred to Russia to pay off the debt for energy carriers, the rest were sawn into metal.

In 2002, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a contract with KAPO to modernize all bombers in service.

In 2003, one of the Tu-160s crashed in the Saratov region, the crew died.

During the exercises, which were held in 2006, a Tu-160 group was able to pass unnoticed into US airspace. Later, Khvorov, Commander-in-Chief of Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Federation, told reporters about this, but there was no further confirmation of this fact.

In 2006, the first upgraded Tu-160 was adopted by the Russian Air Force. A year later, regular flights of Russian strategic aviation to remote areas began, and the White Swans also took (and are taking) part in them.

In 2008, two Tu-160s flew to Venezuela; an airfield in the Murmansk region was used as a jump airfield. The flight took 13 hours. On the way back, a night air refueling was successfully carried out.

At the beginning of 2017, the Russian Aerospace Forces had 16 Tu-160 aircraft. In August 2016, the public was shown the latest modification of the missile carrier - Tu-160M. A little later, the Kazan Aviation Plant reported on the beginning of the revival of the main technologies that are necessary to resume production of the Tu-160. It is scheduled to start by 2023.

Design features

The Tu-160 bomber is made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme, it is an integral low-wing aircraft with an all-moving keel and a stabilizer. The main "highlight" of the aircraft is its wing with a variable sweep angle, and its center section, together with the fuselage, represents a single integral structure. This allows the most efficient use of internal volumes for the placement of equipment, weapons and fuel. The aircraft has a tricycle landing gear.

For the most part, the airframe of the aircraft is made of aluminum alloys, the share of titanium alloys is approximately 20%, and composite materials are also used in the structure. Technologically, the glider consists of six parts.

The central integral part of the machine includes the actual fuselage with the cockpit and two cargo compartments, the center section beam, the fixed part of the wing, the engine nacelles and the rear fuselage.

The nose of the aircraft houses the radar antenna and other radio equipment, followed by a pressurized cockpit.

The crew of the Tu-160 includes four people. For each of them, a K-36DM ejection seat is provided, which allows you to leave the emergency aircraft at the entire altitude range. Moreover, to improve performance, these chairs are equipped with special massage cushions. The cabin has a toilet, kitchen and one bed for rest.

Directly behind the cockpit are two weapons compartments, which contain nodes for hanging various weapons, as well as equipment for lifting them. Here are the mechanisms for controlling the valves. Between the armament compartments there is a center section beam.

Fuel tanks are located in the inflatable and tail parts of the bomber. Their total capacity is 171 thousand liters. Each engine receives fuel from its own tank. The Tu-160 is equipped with an in-flight refueling system.

The low-lying wing of the Tu-160 has a significant elongation and a large root influx. However, the main feature of the aircraft wing is that it can change its sweep (from 20 to 65 degrees along the leading edge), adjusting to a specific flight mode. The wing has a caisson structure, its mechanization includes slats, double-slotted flaps, flaperons and spoilers.

The bomber has a tricycle landing gear, with a controlled front and two main struts.

The power plant of the machine consists of four NK-32 engines, each of which can develop a thrust of 25 kgf in afterburner mode. This allows the aircraft to reach a maximum speed of 2200 km/h. The engines are located in twin engine nacelles located under the wings of the aircraft. The air intakes have a rectangular section with a vertical wedge placed under the wing influxes.

Armament

Despite all its external beauty and grace, the Tu-160 is, first of all, a formidable military weapon, which is quite capable of arranging a small Armageddon on the other side of the world.

Initially, the "White Swan" was conceived as a "clean" missile carrier, so the aircraft's most powerful weapon is the Kh-55 strategic cruise missiles. Although they have subsonic speeds, they fly at extremely low altitudes, bending around the terrain, which makes their interception very difficult. Kh-55s are capable of delivering a nuclear charge over a distance of 3,000 km. Tu-160 can take on board up to 12 of these missiles.

Kh-15 missiles are designed to hit targets at shorter distances. These are hypersonic missiles, which, after launch, move along an aeroballistic trajectory, entering the stratosphere (altitude up to 40 km). Each bomber can carry up to 24 of these missiles.

The cargo compartments of the Tu-160 can also receive conventional air bombs, so the White Swan can also be used as a conventional bomber, although, of course, this is not its main purpose.

In the future, the Tu-160 is planned to be armed with advanced Kh-555 and Kh-101 cruise missiles. They have a long range and can be used to destroy both strategic and tactical targets.

Comparison of Tu-160 and V-1

The Tu-160 is the Soviet answer to the Americans' creation of the B-1 Lancer bomber. We are very fond of comparing these two aircraft, because the Soviet "strategist" is significantly superior to the American in almost all the main characteristics.

Let's start with the fact that the "White Swan" is much larger than its opponent: the wingspan of the B-1B is 41 meters, and that of the Tu-160 is more than 55 meters. The maximum takeoff weight of the Soviet bomber was 275 thousand kg, and the American one - 216 thousand kg. Accordingly, the combat load of the Tu-160 is 45 tons, while the B-1V has only 34 tons. And the flight range of the Soviet "strategist" is almost one and a half times higher.

The "White Swan" can reach speeds of 2200 km / h, which allows it to confidently move away from fighters, the maximum speed of the B-1B does not exceed 1500 km / h.

However, when comparing the characteristics of these two aircraft, one should not forget that the V-1 was originally conceived as a simple long-range bomber, and the Tu-160 was designed as a strategic bomber and "aircraft carrier killer". In the United States, this role is mainly performed by missile-carrying submarines, and they do not need to destroy enemy aircraft carrier groups at all due to the complete absence of such.