Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack Strategic Bombers
Tupolev 160 Blackjack (also commonly known as the White Swan) is the world’s largest combat supersonic aircraft and the largest variable-sweep aircraft ever built. The strategic bomber’s maiden. The largest heavy strategic bomber in the world is Tupolev Tu-160 White Swan - Blackjack and the only copy which can be viewed in Poltava Museum of Long-Range and Strategic Aviation only as well as visit the cockpit. Today in Russia on combat duty there are seventeen Tu-160.
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| Tupolev Tu-160 ASCC codename: Blackjack Intercontinental Strategic Bomber | |
| DESCRIPTION: The Tu-160 is the largest combat aircraft in the world and the largest bomber ever built. Though bearing a strong resemblance to the American B-1 bomber, particularly the cancelled B-1A, the Blackjack is much larger. Also like the B-1A, the Tu-160 is optimized to penetrate enemy air defenses at high altitude and supersonic speeds. The Tu-160 maintains good handling and performance both at low speeds and during supersonic flight thanks to variable geometry wings. The wing position is adjusted manually to three settings of 20° for takeoff and landing, 35° for transonic cruise, and 65° for high-speed flight. Also improving performance at low speeds are full-span leading edge slats and double-slotted flaps along the trailing edge. An unusual feature of the innermost section of flaps is that there is no slot in the fuselage for these devices to slide into when the wings are swept fully back. Instead, the flaps fold upward to align with the aircraft centerline and form a large fence at the wing root. The long slender fuselage of the Tu-160 provides room for a crew of four. The cockpit contains joysticks similar to those in fighters, but the Tu-160 does not have electronic Heads-Up-Displays (HUDs) like most western aircraft. The long pointed nose contains a large terrain-following radar, and a fairing underneath the nose houses a video camera to assist in weapon targeting. The Tu-160 carries a large payload internally within two tandem bomb bays in the center fuselage. Each bay is normally fitted with a rotary launcher compatible with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Tu-160 production began in the mid-1980s but had been stopped prematurely following President Yeltsin's announcement in January 1992 that no further strategic bombers would be built. A total of 36 examples of the Tu-160 are believed to have been completed by June 1994. Of these, 20 ended up in Ukraine after the Soviet Union dissolved, 6 more were operational with the Russian Air Force, and another 6 test aircraft were kept at the Zhukovskii flight test center in various states of repair. Ukraine rarely flew its Blackjacks and signed an agreement in 1995 to give up any nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles, including the Tu-160. Ukraine returned eight of the bombers to Russia in exchange for natural gas while the remainder were destroyed under the watch of international inspectors. Only 15 of those built were estimated to be operational as of 2004. Tu-160 operations during suffered not only because of the changing political climate, but also due to numerous development problems and parts shortages. Difficulties with flight controls, poor reliability of the engines and onboard systems, as well as a lack of basic equipment for aircrew and ground crew caused repeated problems throughout the 1990s. Most of the bombers were also delivered before the production configuration had been finalized, so no two aircraft are alike and components differ from plane to plane degrading maintenance and serviceability. Despite these troubles, the bomber was revitalized when President Putin restarted strategic patrol flights and ordered Tu-160 assembly to resume. Deliveries of new-build Blackjacks began in 2007 and Russian officials expect one additional bomber to be completed every 18 months. The Air Force hopes to bring the total Tu-160 fleet up to 30 operational aircraft by 2025. Further enhancing the combat capability and operability of the fleet is a modernization program aimed at the surviving bombers built before 1994. The updates include new engines upgraded to improve reliability, digital flight controls and avioics, compatibility with Russia's GPS system called GLONASS, and the ability to carry new weapons such as laser-guided bombs and advanced conventional cruise missiles. Plans call for three to five Blackjacks to be updated each year to bring the original Tu-160 fleet up to the same standard as new production models by about 2012. A commercial derivative known as the Tu-160SK has also been proposed as a potential launch platform for a small rocket to low-Earth orbit. Last modified 17 March 2011 | |
| HISTORY: | |
| First Flight | 19 December 1981 |
| Service Entry | 25 April 1987 |
| CREW: | four: pilot, co-pilot, navigator/offensive weapons operator, navigator/EW and communications operator |
| ESTIMATED COST: | unknown |
| AIRFOIL SECTIONS: | |
| Wing Root | unknown |
| Wing Tip | unknown |
| DIMENSIONS: | |
| Length | 177.50 ft (54.10 m) |
| Wingspan | unswept: 182.75 ft (55.70 m) swept: 116.81 ft (35.60 m) |
| Height | 43.00 ft (13.10 m) |
| Wing Area | 3,870 ft² (360.0 m²) |
| Canard Area | not applicable |
| WEIGHTS: | |
| Empty | 257,940 lb (117,000 kg) |
| Normal Takeoff | 589,955 lb (267,600 kg) |
| Max Takeoff | 606,260 lb (275,000 kg) |
| Fuel Capacity | internal: 326,285 lb (148,000 kg) external: none |
| Max Payload | 36,000 lb (16,330 kg) |
| PROPULSION: | |
| Powerplant | four Samara/ Trud NK-321 afterburning turbofans |
| Thrust | 123, 370 lb (548.8 kN) 220,460 lb (980.6 kN) with afterburner |
| PERFORMANCE: | |
| Max Level Speed | at altitude: 1,380 mph (2,220 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,200 m), Mach 2.05 at sea level: 640 mph (1,030 km/k) cruise speed: 530 mph (850 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,145 m), Mach 0.77 |
| Initial Climb Rate | 13,780 ft (4,200 m) / min |
| Service Ceiling | 52,495 ft (16,000 m) |
| Range | 6,650 nm (12,300 km) |
| Endurance | 15 hr |
| g-Limits | +2 |
| ARMAMENT: | |
| Gun | none |
| Stations | two internal bomb bays |
| Air-to-Surface Missile | up to 12 Kh-55/AS-15 'Kent', up to 24 Kh-15P/AS-16 'Kickback' cruise missiles reportedly to be upgraded to carry up to 12 Kh-101 or up to 12 Kh-SD cruise missiles |
| Bomb | theoretically compatible with various free-fall nuclear or conventional bombs, but none have yet been integrated |
| Other | unknown |
| KNOWN VARIANTS: | |
| Tu-160 'Blackjack-A' | Production strategic bomber; approximately 30 built |
| Tu-160S 'Blackjack-A' | Designation sometimes applied to serial production aircraft to differentiate from prototypes and pre-prodcution models |
| Tu-160P | Proposal for an interceptor armed with medium- and long-range air-to-air-missiles to escort and defend bombers; cancelled |
| Tu-160PP | Proposal for an electronic countermeasures model to escort bombers; cancelled |
| Tu-160M | Proposed model with a stretched fuselage to carry two long-range Kh-90 missiles; cancelled |
| Tu-160 NK-74 | Proposed version carrying NK-74 engines to increase range; cancelled |
| Tu-160V | Variant designed to carry liquid hydrogen fuel; cancelled |
| Tu-160R | Proposed reconnaissance model; cancelled |
| Tu-160SK | Proposal for a commercial variant to carry a small space vehicle named Burlak underneath the fuselage to high altitude and then launch the vehicle into low-Earth orbit |
| Tu-170 | Proposed derivative of the Tu-160 designed to carry only conventional non-nuclear weapons and avoid limitations imposed by the SALT-2 treaty; cancelled |
| KNOWN COMBAT RECORD: | none |
| KNOWN OPERATORS: | Russia, Voyenno Vozdushniye Sili (Russian Air Force) Ukraine, Voyenno Vozdushnyye Sily (Ukraine Military Air Forces) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Voyenno Vozdushniye Sili (Soviet Air Force) |
| 3-VIEW SCHEMATIC: | |
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They are the most famous representatives of Tupolev military aircrafts.
Strategic (intercontinental) bomber completed its first flight in 1952. In 1955 serial production of the aircraft began. Over the past decades, the aircraft was repeatedly modified and upgraded. The aircraft is still today is in service of the Russian Armed Forces. Probably it will remain in military service for another decade.
The wingspan of the aircraft is 50.4 m with a length of 49 m. The practical ceiling of the aircraft is 10,500 meters. The information on the range of the aircraft is notdisclosed. There are some rumors that it is up to 10 000 km.
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack Strategic Bomberss
Each aircraft is equipped with in-flight refueling, which not only extends the range of the aircraft for the whole globe, but also allows the aircraft to remain in the air for a long time.
The aircraft Tu-95 can carry strategic long rangecruise missiles. The range of modern cruise missiles X-101 can reach up to 5500 km with a hit precision of up to 2 meters.
In Russia, at least 32 aircrafts of this type are on military duty in the air or ready to take off at any moment. At least twice as many aircrafts are in conservation.
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack Strategic Bombersc Bombers
Here is a video of strategic missile Tu-95MS “Atomic Bear” in flight:
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In the statement made by US military commanders that the Russian bombers Tu-95 pose “no threat”, there is some truth.
Propeller bombers are much more economical than jets. That means that one hour of their operation is significantly cheaper to Russia. This allows Russia to “hold” the aircraftsat the locations around the world where it needs them.
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack Strategic Bombers Bomber
Aircrafts designed in Tupolev studio more than half a century ago, are unlikely to pose a significant threat. Here US military functionaries are correct. The only problem is that Tu-95 is not a weapon. TU-95 is a carrier of weapons, missiles. Simply put, it is a hanging in the air at the desired location in the world rocket launcher.
Can you shoot down a plane in a couple of minutes? Yes. But it can fire missiles in 3 seconds. It is enough for an aircraft to “shoot out” and that’s it – it has no further use, it is then just an empty shell. It’s like an empty beer can. Beer has been shaken and it splattered around on everyone when the can got opened. And the guys at the Pentagon suggest collecting empty beer cans. Seriously, they are better off figuring out how not to shake the can!
This jet bomber is the largest military supersonic aircraft, as well as the heaviest combat aircraft in the world.
Today in Russia on military duty there are only 16 units of Tu-160. Altogether 35 strategic bombers have been produced. A certain number of these combat aircrafts is panned to be additionally manufactured.
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack Strategic Bombers Missile
Originally this aircraft was designed as a response to US strategic aviation. The Soviet Union already had a powerful enough “missile umbrella”, but its strategic air command was still using propeller aircraft Tu-95, which at that time could not break through the air defense.
Tu-160 was originally planned to be used solely as a missile carrier (strategic nuclear missiles and nuclear weapons of medium-range). Later the range for the military use of the aircraft has been extended: now it can carry up to 40 tons of different-sized bombs, mines or missiles. The heaviest combat aircraft may also carry aeroballistic hypersonic missiles.
“White Swan” has a variable geometry of the wing, which means that at high speeds the wings get “pressed” to the fuselage of the aircraft, thus reducing air resistance.
The maximum speed of the bomber is 1800 kilometers per hour, and its service ceiling is 14,000 meters.
Compared to the same American aircraft “Blackjack” Tu-160 is much faster, it has a larger radius of combat activity and can carry much more weight (up to 12 nuclear cruise missiles).
Unlike Tu-160, its American counterpart B-1 is capable of flying at low altitudes, gliding over the terrain, but almost all modern air defense systems can quickly prevent it flying at such altitudes. That means that the American counterpart can be used only in the context of military operations in countries with underdeveloped military technology.
“White Swan”, despite its huge size (being the biggest bomber in the world), has low visibility to radars. Because of this, there have been several incidents when aircrafts Tu-160 during routine maneuvers were completely unexpectedly identified near the air borders of countries with advanced air defense technologies.
In fact, “Blackjack” is a kind of aircraft that can’t be intercepted. Air defense systems can only try to intercept the missiles it releases.
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Photos by Vitaly Kuzmin