Tu-22M3 Backfire C
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Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire C long-range bomber aircraft
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The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with the Soviet military in the 1960s, and the last examples were retired during the 1990s. The Tu-22M3 is an improved variant of the basic version of Tu-22. The first fight of Tu-22M3 was in 1976 and entered service in 1983. The Tu-22M was first used in combat in Afghanistan from 1987 to 1989. The Tu-22M3 long-range bomber is intended to destroy ground and large marine targets (primarily aircraft-carrier task forces) with supersonic air-to-surface missiles in the entire spectrum of application conditions in operational and tactical depth of enemy defenses, in any season, in standard and adverse weather. It is capable of a relatively prolonged speed dash near the surface of the Earth at an altitude of 40 to 60 m. |
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| Design | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The high performance characteristics of this bomber are attributed to the perfect aerodynamic configuration of its airframe and developed high-lift devices It features variable-sweep (fro 20 to 65°) wings. The crewmembers are accommodated by twos (two pilots are sealed in the forward cabin and the navigator and the weapons operator are seated in the rear cabin). Access to their seats is provided via individual hatches above their heads. An inflatable rescue raft is held behind the cabin. To permit emergency escape, the crewmembers are seated in the KT-1M ejection seats allowing them to abandon the aircraft in a range of altitudes from zero to the service ceiling and at a minimum speed of 130 km/h. To protect the crew against nuclear burst effects, the cabin glazing is provided with removable metal screens.
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The aircraft avionics include a flight and navigation system, including radar, an optical bombsight with a TV channel, an automatic aircraft flight control system and a missile armament control system. All together, they automatically solve the navigation, target attack and aircraft piloting problems when the aircraft is flying either along a preset route or under a program set in promptly in flight. They are also used to launch missiles and drop bombs.
The electronic countermeasures assets include radar reconnaissance devices, a radar illumination warning receiver, radar countermeasures devices, as well as chaff and flare dispensers. The aircraft is not equipped with a terrain-avoiding flight system. |
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Two NK-25 by-pass turbojet engines with afterburners and horizontal-wedge air scoops power the aircraft. Should one of the engines fail, the aircraft can continue its mission. Fuel is contained in the mid-fuselage section, in the lower part of the fin, in the variable-geometry outer wing panels and in the fixed root panels. The hydraulic system is divided into three independent subsystems.
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The missile armament of the Tu-22M3 bomber includes three supersonic cruise missiles Kh-22M designed to destroy large sea targets and radar-contrast ground targets. One missile is arranged in a bomb bay under the fuselage in a semi-recessed position. The other two missiles are carried on underwing stations. Six aeroballistic hypersonic anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles are arranged in the fuselage on a multiple-position catapult Four missiles are arranged on an underwing catapult. The bomb armament is held in the fuselage and on four external stations fitted with nine-lock bomb holding racks. Typical bomb load includes either 69 FAB-250 bombs or eight FAB-1500 bombs. Presently, modernization work is underway on the Tu-22M3 bomber.
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