Return of the “white swans”
On November 16, the new supersonic “strategist” Tu-160 rolled out of the workshop at the Kazan Aviation Plant. Everything happened quite routinely, although the last time the “White Swan” (according to the Western classification Black Jack) was rolled out took place almost 10 years ago - in 2008.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Telegram, Facebook, Classmates or In contact with
The long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces was replenished with the seventeenth Tu-160, and the “seventeenth” became the first aircraft built under the program for restoring the “white swans” population, adopted at the government level in 2015.
The “Seventeenth” was not built from scratch - it is one of four aircraft laid down in the USSR, but mothballed for an indefinite period in 1992 immediately after the collapse of the united country. The first “swan” of four was completed in 2000, the second flew out of the walls of the Kazan aircraft plant in 2008. Now it’s the seventeenth’s turn.
Planned flight tests of the new Tu-160 will begin in February next year. According to the designers and military, this aircraft is destined for about three years to test many technical ideas that should be equipped with future Tu-160M2, serial production of which is scheduled for 2023. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the need of the Armed Forces for “strategists” is 30–50 vehicles. Annual production should be two to three cars.
In fact, the “seventeenth” is the 37th “swan” Tu-160, built in Kazan since 1987. The very first were three prototypes and five experimental series vehicles, two of which, after testing, ended up serving in the USSR Air Force.
Two cars were lost in accidents. One of the experimental aircraft in 1987 left the runway and caught fire. Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident. and in September 2003, not far from the village of Sovetsky, Saratov Region, due to an engine malfunction, the Mikhail Gromov combat vehicle caught fire and exploded in the air. Four pilots died - an experienced and well-knit crew.
One may wonder: if the Tu-160 is so necessary, then why was its production not resumed a long time ago?
The answer may sound paradoxical: the fleet of “strategists” of the Russian Air Force was replenished by Ukraine, which after the collapse of the USSR received an airbase in Priluki, Chernihiv region, and 19 “White Swans” to boot.
For the Svidomo dwarfs, these bombers were the superweapons of a supercivilization and the Kuchmoids could not use them even if they wanted to. However, no one asked their wishes and the Americans in charge of Kyiv insisted on destroying the planes. One of the Tu-160s was completely demobilized and became an exhibit in a museum near Poltava. Another 10 dill aircraft were sawed up for scrap, and the plane with tail number 24 was sawed up in the presence of American senators Lugar and Levin to approving pats on the back “good, Taras, good.” The remaining planes faced the same fate, but at this time Ukraine had a large and very unpleasant gas debt to Russia. The eight surviving “strategists” became payment for the Ukrainian debt.
The transfer of these eight "swans" was extremely important, since the Russian Air Force doubled its Tu-160 fleet in one fell swoop. The injured party as a result of the deal was the American curators, who expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the strengthening of the Russian Air Force.
It should also be added that 8 “swans”, 3 “bears”, 575 cruise missiles and airfield equipment actually went to Russia at a symbolic price of $285 million, about which an agreement was signed in September 1999 in the then Ukrainian Yalta.
Why are the beautiful Tu-160s needed and how were they born?
It all started in 1967, when the USSR Ministry of Defense held a competition for a new long-range strategic missile-carrying bomber. The M-18 machine from the Myasishchev Design Bureau and the T-4MS from the Sukhoi Design Bureau, which had no experience in the development and construction of strategic bombers, took part in the competition. The M-18 project won, which was transferred to the Tupolev Design Bureau for implementation.
The USSR Air Force raised the bar of requirements for a new “strategist” to the level of the stratosphere. The machine was supposed to reach a speed of 2500 km/h at an altitude of up to 16 thousand meters and a flight range at this speed of 11 - 13 thousand kilometers. The maximum flight range at subsonic cruising speed was supposed to reach 18 thousand kilometers.
The new “strategist” was supposed to cover long distances at subsonic speeds and break through the enemy’s air defense system at supersonic speeds.
14 years passed and in December 1981 a real man-made dragon, 54 meters long and weighing 275 tons, took to the air. The dragon had wings with variable geometry and, when fully expanded, their span reached 55 meters.
The Tu-160 immediately after its birth became a record holder: it is the heaviest combat aircraft in the world, the largest supersonic aircraft and the largest aircraft with variable wing geometry.
But the Tu-160 does not break any records in terms of cost. At the 1992 exchange rate, its cost reaches $250 million, which, of course, is a lot, but if you compare it with the American strategic stealth bomber of the “flying wing” type B2B Spirit, which costs $1 billion without the filling, and just over $2,1 with all the stuffing .XNUMX billion (the most expensive aircraft in the history of aviation) and taking into account the much more modest performance characteristics of the Spirit, the cost of the Swan looks moderate.
The beginning of serial production of the Tu-160 at the Kazan Aviation Plant - 1984. The aircraft began to enter service with the troops in 1987, and in 1989 state tests were successfully completed.
The Lebed, loaded to its maximum, can carry up to 40 tons of combat load. A load of 16–20 tons is considered normal for it.
The main armament of the Tu-160 is 12 missiles in two revolver mounts, located in a special compartment of the hull. These are the hypersonic X-15, capable of accelerating to 5M, as well as the subsonic X-55 with a flight range of 2500 km. The Tu-160 attacked the ISIS barmaleys in Syria with new generation missiles - the X-555 (a modification of the X-55 with a non-nuclear warhead) and the X-101 with a range increased to 4500 km.
The decision of the Russian Ministry of Defense to resume production of the Tu-160 occurred against the backdrop of the still unclear future of the PAK DA project (advanced long-range aviation complex), which is designed to replace the triad of existing “strategists” - Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160. Development of the PAK DA began in 2009 and in 2015 the designers were already supposed to present a prototype of the new bomber to the military. According to the customer's requirements, the new bomber had to not only surpass everything that had been created before it, but also be much cheaper to manufacture and use new composite materials in the design. The PAK DA should become a subsonic “flying wing” with the capability of long-term combat duty in the air.
However, the deadlines moved forward and only in July 2017 did the developers announce the completion of the preliminary design of the machine. Then a message came from the Ministry of Defense that the first flight of the PAK DA would take place no earlier than 2025, and serial deliveries to the Aerospace Forces would begin approximately in 2028, which also does not seem to be the final date.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Defense Minister Shoigu decided to resume production of the Tu-160. The fleet of strategic bombers inherited from the USSR is aging, wearing out, and these are turbulent times and it is better to spend them fully armed.
It only remains to add that the team at the Kazan Aviation Plant has done titanic work. After all, they had to not only raise documentation for an aircraft that had not been produced from scratch for more than 25 years, but also restore and adapt the technology to today.
Apparently, the design of the aircraft's airframe will not undergo significant changes and it will remain a Soviet solution. But the avionics - instruments, navigation, radar, electronic warfare equipment, guidance and weapon control - will be completely new. The Tu-160M2 will also receive new, more economical and longer-lasting NK-32-02 engines.
How it will work out there with fifth-generation bombers is unknown, but we need to defend the country from the air now. And the return of “white swans” production is a very good sign.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.