Home
Latest images
Register
Log in
Beautiful!owais.usmani wrote:
+46
Scorpius
kvs
Begome
Isos
mnrck
Giulio
Tsavo Lion
lancelot
Rodion_Romanovic
thegopnik
Krepost
Lennox
GarryB
JohninMK
Mir
magnumcromagnon
TMA1
limb
Backman
AZ-5
Rasisuki Nebia
Podlodka77
mnztr
Coffin Corner
headshot69
wilhelm
hoom
Arkanghelsk
Kiko
dino00
LMFS
PapaDragon
franco
d_taddei2
Hole
Arrow
AMCXXL
Gomig-21
lyle6
owais.usmani
Russian_Patriot_
Maximmmm
George1
Dorfmeister
ALAMO
miketheterrible
50 posters
Tu-160 "White Swan" #2
mnrck- Posts : 90
Points : 94
Join date : 2016-02-10
GarryB, Big_Gazza, zepia, JohninMK, owais.usmani, lyle6, 11E and like this post
lyle6
lyle6- Posts : 2600
Points : 2594
Join date : 2020-09-14
Location : Philippines
God bless every curve, love all the angles 
owais.usmani and Belisarius like this post
Gomig-21- Posts : 746
Points : 748
Join date : 2016-07-17
Always been impressed with not only the smooth curves on this thing, but the girth of the wings are really something. I suppose they need as much internal fuel storage as they possibly could get for those long, high altitude bombing missions. Bet those wings pack a lot of gallons (or liters I guess) in them.
GarryB, George1, Big_Gazza, zardof, thegopnik, Mir, Broski and jon_deluxe like this post
Hole- Posts : 11127
Points : 11105
Join date : 2018-03-24
Age : 48
Location : Scholzistan
Tons of fuel. 
Gomig-21 likes this post
GarryB- Posts : 40560
Points : 41062
Join date : 2010-03-30
Location : New Zealand
148 tons of fuel AFAIK...
But obviously not all in the wings...
But obviously not all in the wings...
Gomig-21 and owais.usmani like this post
LMFS- Posts : 5169
Points : 5165
Join date : 2018-03-03
GarryB wrote:148 tons of fuel AFAIK...
But obviously not all in the wings...
The blended wing-body is crucial for fuel capacity:
GarryB, George1, zardof, Gomig-21, lancelot, TMA1, Mir and jon_deluxe like this post
LMFS- Posts : 5169
Points : 5165
Join date : 2018-03-03
Exactly, it allows to increase the internal volume compensating some of the extra drag with additional lift. Interesting in the Tu-160 is how massive that transition section between fuselage and wing is and that they managed to make it work from an aerodynamic perspective on such a huge plane flying 2 M. The Tu-160 is indeed a master piece of engineering.
GarryB, Gomig-21, owais.usmani, lancelot, TMA1, Broski and jon_deluxe like this post
Mir- Posts : 3835
Points : 3833
Join date : 2021-06-10
LMFS wrote:The Tu-160 is indeed a master piece of engineering.
I'll drink to that!
GarryB, George1, Big_Gazza, Gomig-21, LMFS, lancelot, TMA1 and like this post
lancelot- Posts : 3183
Points : 3179
Join date : 2020-10-18
The Tu-160 was only possible after several Soviet programs like the one for the SST i.e. SuperSonic Transport the Tu-144.
Initially it used the same engines in the prototype but later they came up with the NK-32 engine. This was an engine of a power and capacity the West couldn't match back then. It used a modern afterburning turbofan cycle and is proof of the superiority of Soviet metallurgy in jet engines back then. The B-1 bomber, the closest analog, was downgraded to a subsonic aircraft with engines of half the power level of the Tu-160. That US engine, with half the power, was the engine core used to design the CFM56 series of engines as used in the civilian Airbus A320.
If you wanted to, you could make an F-35 analog with an engine derived from the NK-32. The F-35 engine and B-21 Raider engines have similar power (125 kN dry vs 137 kN dry) but are of way later design.
The Tu-160 was originally designed by Makeyev OKB but then handed out to Tupolev since they had more experience with actually building aircraft of the type.
The Tupolev design for the competition was way simpler. It lacked variable geometry wings for example.
This was designed at the peak of the so called "Breznev Stagnation". It is evidence that the Soviet Union wasn't as outdated technologically as some people would like you to think. To a large degree the problem is that technology often was not distributed across design bureaus and even less to the civilian sector.
The overhang of the defense sector over the civilian economy kept increasing and hence we get the stagnation period.
There was also severe duplication of designs in the Union sometimes, for example, in terms of performance this engine can easily replace the Lotarev D-18T as used in the Ruslan. The Union often did this to promote competition within their own industry but the Soviets simply lacked the economic heft to continue doing multiple concurrent expensive programs like that.
Initially it used the same engines in the prototype but later they came up with the NK-32 engine. This was an engine of a power and capacity the West couldn't match back then. It used a modern afterburning turbofan cycle and is proof of the superiority of Soviet metallurgy in jet engines back then. The B-1 bomber, the closest analog, was downgraded to a subsonic aircraft with engines of half the power level of the Tu-160. That US engine, with half the power, was the engine core used to design the CFM56 series of engines as used in the civilian Airbus A320.
If you wanted to, you could make an F-35 analog with an engine derived from the NK-32. The F-35 engine and B-21 Raider engines have similar power (125 kN dry vs 137 kN dry) but are of way later design.
The Tu-160 was originally designed by Makeyev OKB but then handed out to Tupolev since they had more experience with actually building aircraft of the type.
The Tupolev design for the competition was way simpler. It lacked variable geometry wings for example.
This was designed at the peak of the so called "Breznev Stagnation". It is evidence that the Soviet Union wasn't as outdated technologically as some people would like you to think. To a large degree the problem is that technology often was not distributed across design bureaus and even less to the civilian sector.
The overhang of the defense sector over the civilian economy kept increasing and hence we get the stagnation period.
There was also severe duplication of designs in the Union sometimes, for example, in terms of performance this engine can easily replace the Lotarev D-18T as used in the Ruslan. The Union often did this to promote competition within their own industry but the Soviets simply lacked the economic heft to continue doing multiple concurrent expensive programs like that.
LMFS, Mir, Broski and jon_deluxe like this post
Gomig-21- Posts : 746
Points : 748
Join date : 2016-07-17
How's this shot for a great look at that blended wing design.
GarryB, LMFS, Mir and jon_deluxe like this post
owais.usmani- Posts : 1829
Points : 1825
Join date : 2019-03-27
Age : 38
A cool take off video:
GarryB, zepia, TMA1 and jon_deluxe like this post
Hole- Posts : 11127
Points : 11105
Join date : 2018-03-24
Age : 48
Location : Scholzistan
Not far from the norwegian border, small reaction to Natos wargaming.
sepheronx, GarryB, zardof, AMCXXL, LMFS, lancelot and jon_deluxe like this post
Isos- Posts : 11603
Points : 11571
Join date : 2015-11-06
Few days ago above an airfield were tupolevs were deploy they destroyed a drone.
Looks like US are trying to destroy them and blame ukrainians.
I would move them in the Urals or Siberia and forbid the area to civilians. So close to finish border is pretty dangerous.
Looks like US are trying to destroy them and blame ukrainians.
I would move them in the Urals or Siberia and forbid the area to civilians. So close to finish border is pretty dangerous.
Podlodka77- Posts : 2589
Points : 2591
Join date : 2022-01-06
Location : Z
Isos wrote:Few days ago above an airfield were tupolevs were deploy they destroyed a drone.
Looks like US are trying to destroy them and blame ukrainians.
I would move them in the Urals or Siberia and forbid the area to civilians. So close to finish border is pretty dangerous.
Any destruction of those planes would be dangerous for the US as well. They belong to the nuclear triad and Russia could respond to such an attack with retaliation.
flamming_python and AMCXXL like this post
GarryB- Posts : 40560
Points : 41062
Join date : 2010-03-30
Location : New Zealand
The US has military forces in hundreds of countries around the world... many of which are very vulnerable... do they really want to start throwing stones like that?
zardof, LMFS, Hole and Podlodka77 like this post
Podlodka77- Posts : 2589
Points : 2591
Join date : 2022-01-06
Location : Z
01.11.2022
InoSMI
How strong is the Russian Tu-160 bomber?
Baijiahao: Tu-160 keeps the West in fear after decades
Decades later, this Russian bomber continues to be a threat to the United States, writes user Baijiahao. Its ultra-high speed and powerful weaponry allow it to inflict catastrophic damage. His deadly blows inspire fear in Western countries.
Its range is 17 thousand kilometers, it has been in service for several decades, still causing fear in the United States.
How strong is the Russian Tu-160 bomber with a range of 17,000 kilometers? Since this aircraft has been in service with Russia for several decades, and the United States is still afraid of it, one can assume that the Tu-160 is really difficult to deal with. So what are the characteristics of this bomber? What is Washington still afraid of?
The Tu-160 is terrifying to the US military, mainly because it can accelerate to Mach 2.05. Of course, if the aircraft had only speed, this would clearly not be enough. This bomber can reduce the time it takes to reach a target with supersonic cruising speed. However, in the US, there are F-22 supersonic fighters capable of intercepting the Tu-160, so why is it still considered a threat?
You do not know that the Tu-160 has not only speed, but also two powerful weapons - cruise missiles and nuclear warheads. The Tu-160 is a super-bomber capable of carrying Kh-101 heavy cruise missiles in its own built-in bomb bay. It can be loaded immediately with 12 such shells with 400-kilogram warheads. The Kh-101 cruise missile has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, which allows the aircraft to reach a firing position in a very short time. It can also build its own flight path to cover stealthy new cruise missiles, allowing them to easily bypass enemy air defenses and deliver deadly strikes at the right target.
In addition, the Tu-160 bomber can be equipped not only with Kh-101 cruise missiles to perform strategic strike missions. With the help of an internal rotating magazine and external pylons, it can carry up to 24 X-15 missiles at once to destroy ship or ground targets. Although the X-15 has a maximum range of only 300 kilometers, the projectile can fly at speeds up to Mach 5, which makes it very difficult for an anti-missile defense fleet to intercept. If naval interceptors fail to block the Tu-160 at a distance of 300 kilometers from the target, then 24 X-15 air-to-ship missiles fired by this bomber at a time will smash the fleet of most Western countries to pieces.
In addition, the Tu-160 bomber has the ability to penetrate targets at low altitude, like the B-1 bomber. For this reason, the West is forced to deploy a large number of early warning aircraft wherever the Tu-160 can fly. The combat radius and range of the Kh-101 missile is also more than 500 kilometers. Thanks to this, the aircraft can launch projectiles outside the enemy's air defense network and clear targets that need to be eliminated even before the enemy can complete the interception by its fighters.
No wonder Western countries are so afraid of the Russian Tu-160 bomber. Although this aircraft does not have the stealth characteristics of the B-2, the ultra-high flight speed and powerful weaponry it carries can bring catastrophic destruction to any military base and other key targets it wants to hit.
https://vpk.name/news/648335_naskolko_silen_rossiiskii_bombardirovshik_tu-160.html
InoSMI
How strong is the Russian Tu-160 bomber?
Baijiahao: Tu-160 keeps the West in fear after decades
Decades later, this Russian bomber continues to be a threat to the United States, writes user Baijiahao. Its ultra-high speed and powerful weaponry allow it to inflict catastrophic damage. His deadly blows inspire fear in Western countries.
Its range is 17 thousand kilometers, it has been in service for several decades, still causing fear in the United States.
How strong is the Russian Tu-160 bomber with a range of 17,000 kilometers? Since this aircraft has been in service with Russia for several decades, and the United States is still afraid of it, one can assume that the Tu-160 is really difficult to deal with. So what are the characteristics of this bomber? What is Washington still afraid of?
The Tu-160 is terrifying to the US military, mainly because it can accelerate to Mach 2.05. Of course, if the aircraft had only speed, this would clearly not be enough. This bomber can reduce the time it takes to reach a target with supersonic cruising speed. However, in the US, there are F-22 supersonic fighters capable of intercepting the Tu-160, so why is it still considered a threat?
You do not know that the Tu-160 has not only speed, but also two powerful weapons - cruise missiles and nuclear warheads. The Tu-160 is a super-bomber capable of carrying Kh-101 heavy cruise missiles in its own built-in bomb bay. It can be loaded immediately with 12 such shells with 400-kilogram warheads. The Kh-101 cruise missile has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, which allows the aircraft to reach a firing position in a very short time. It can also build its own flight path to cover stealthy new cruise missiles, allowing them to easily bypass enemy air defenses and deliver deadly strikes at the right target.
In addition, the Tu-160 bomber can be equipped not only with Kh-101 cruise missiles to perform strategic strike missions. With the help of an internal rotating magazine and external pylons, it can carry up to 24 X-15 missiles at once to destroy ship or ground targets. Although the X-15 has a maximum range of only 300 kilometers, the projectile can fly at speeds up to Mach 5, which makes it very difficult for an anti-missile defense fleet to intercept. If naval interceptors fail to block the Tu-160 at a distance of 300 kilometers from the target, then 24 X-15 air-to-ship missiles fired by this bomber at a time will smash the fleet of most Western countries to pieces.
In addition, the Tu-160 bomber has the ability to penetrate targets at low altitude, like the B-1 bomber. For this reason, the West is forced to deploy a large number of early warning aircraft wherever the Tu-160 can fly. The combat radius and range of the Kh-101 missile is also more than 500 kilometers. Thanks to this, the aircraft can launch projectiles outside the enemy's air defense network and clear targets that need to be eliminated even before the enemy can complete the interception by its fighters.
No wonder Western countries are so afraid of the Russian Tu-160 bomber. Although this aircraft does not have the stealth characteristics of the B-2, the ultra-high flight speed and powerful weaponry it carries can bring catastrophic destruction to any military base and other key targets it wants to hit.
https://vpk.name/news/648335_naskolko_silen_rossiiskii_bombardirovshik_tu-160.html
Big_Gazza, zardof, Hole, Broski and jon_deluxe like this post
GarryB- Posts : 40560
Points : 41062
Join date : 2010-03-30
Location : New Zealand
The Kh-15 has been withdrawn from service AFAIK, but a new mach 6 missile with a range of 1,500km is being developed to fill its role of short range attack missile.
It is not actually an anti ship missile... it can best be described as a grid square remover.
One Blackjack in a flight or a Bear or even a Backfire for that matter can carry them internally... the Blackjack can carry 12 per weapon bay and the other two aircraft with much smaller weapon bays can carry 6 in their weapon bay each and they are designed to be carried in a strategic attack bomber force where WWIII has started so it is weapons free with nukes.
The purpose of the missiles is that if a group of enemy interceptor fighters are detected ahead or a SAM site turns on its radar one of these high speed missiles is launched to either air burst or ground burst a rather large nuclear explosion to take out the interceptor aircraft and any missiles they might have launched or the entire SAM site allowing the bombers to safely continue flying through... the high speed of the missile was more critical than the flight range... they were like the high speed rocket powered torpedoes to streak out and destroy nearby surprise threats.
The new missile with 5 times more range and a higher flight speed should be even more effective.
The whole point is that it is easier to make the weapons stealthy and super fast and super long range than it is to design a bomber of any type that can fly through contested air space.
It is not actually an anti ship missile... it can best be described as a grid square remover.
One Blackjack in a flight or a Bear or even a Backfire for that matter can carry them internally... the Blackjack can carry 12 per weapon bay and the other two aircraft with much smaller weapon bays can carry 6 in their weapon bay each and they are designed to be carried in a strategic attack bomber force where WWIII has started so it is weapons free with nukes.
The purpose of the missiles is that if a group of enemy interceptor fighters are detected ahead or a SAM site turns on its radar one of these high speed missiles is launched to either air burst or ground burst a rather large nuclear explosion to take out the interceptor aircraft and any missiles they might have launched or the entire SAM site allowing the bombers to safely continue flying through... the high speed of the missile was more critical than the flight range... they were like the high speed rocket powered torpedoes to streak out and destroy nearby surprise threats.
The new missile with 5 times more range and a higher flight speed should be even more effective.
The whole point is that it is easier to make the weapons stealthy and super fast and super long range than it is to design a bomber of any type that can fly through contested air space.
Hole likes this post
d_taddei2- Posts : 3029
Points : 3203
Join date : 2013-05-11
Location : Scotland Alba
Isos- Posts : 11603
Points : 11571
Join date : 2015-11-06
1500km range missiles are bigger and more expensive than 300km ones.
And this war shows they kinda lack some tactical missiles. Old Kh-59 get intercepted. And they don't seem to have plenty. Kalibr and kh-101 aren't needed in ukraine yet they do most of the job.
A modern Kh-15 could have done the job.
And this war shows they kinda lack some tactical missiles. Old Kh-59 get intercepted. And they don't seem to have plenty. Kalibr and kh-101 aren't needed in ukraine yet they do most of the job.
A modern Kh-15 could have done the job.
owais.usmani likes this post
GarryB- Posts : 40560
Points : 41062
Join date : 2010-03-30
Location : New Zealand
1500km range missiles are bigger and more expensive than 300km ones.
Not necessarily... the Kh-15 is a solid rocket missile and weighs 1.5 tons... which is about the same weight as the 2,500km range early model Kh-55s that were turbojet propelled.
These new missiles are going to use scramjet propulsion, which means they still scoop up the air they need to burn their fuel from the atmosphere instead of carrying it in their fuel tanks along with the fuel, but the engine design means very high flight speeds should be possible.
As a conventional ramjet moves faster through the air it needs to restrict and reduce the air flowing into the engine because when it is flying at supersonic speeds a supersonic airflow would blow out the combustion chamber and it would no longer be generating thrust.
A scramjet engine does not need to reduce the flow of air to subsonic speeds so much more air coming in and much more thrust, which is how it can fly so fast.
Scramjets to date fly at about mach 10 in the form of Zircon, so flying at only mach 6 must mean a smaller more efficient engine and lower fuel burn... presumably to extend range and performance... and also be more compact.
The Kh-15 was designed to fit into the weapon bay of the Tu-22M3 and Bear, but also fit a double load in a Blackjack, so instead of 6 cruise missiles per weapon bay it could carry 12 Kh-15s in each of the two weapon bays.
The new replacement missile would need to do the same.
And this war shows they kinda lack some tactical missiles. Old Kh-59 get intercepted. And they don't seem to have plenty. Kalibr and kh-101 aren't needed in ukraine yet they do most of the job.
We keep hearing they are running out of missiles, but all that speculation turns out to be bullshit when they launch another attack.
Calibr and Kh-101 are designed for conventional warfare... this is exactly what they are for. The Kh-102 is the nuclear weapon of choice for WWII and obviously they are not getting used.
A modern Kh-15 could have done the job.
Kh-15 uses solid rocket fuel and is rather expensive for what it does.
Turbojet and ramjet and scramjet powered weapons will be much more cost effective.... they have an enormous range of old and new tactical weapons they can use, the Kh-31s seem to be very effective too...
BTW for every intercepted missile hundreds seem to be getting through, and for each interception the Orcs are firing lots of ammo... which is a good thing too...
Big_Gazza, Hole, Broski and jon_deluxe like this post
Arrow- Posts : 3501
Points : 3491
Join date : 2012-02-12
https://m.vk.com/video-206639135_456262900
GarryB and Hole like this post
AMCXXL- Posts : 1018
Points : 1018
Join date : 2017-08-08
https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4631692.html
The third modernized Tu-160M bomber
[size=13]
As PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC) reported on December 19, 2022, in December 2022, the next improved strategic missile carrier Tu-160M, developed by PJSC Tupolev (part of PJSC UAC, Rostec State Corporation), made its first flight. The third modernized at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gorbunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" strategic bomber Tu-160M. Kazan, December 2022 (c) United Aircraft Corporation PJSC
The press release says that the pilots performed maneuvers to check the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air, the performance of aircraft systems and engines, as well as on-board electronic equipment.
From the side of bmpd, we point out that, apparently, this is how the third model of the upgraded to the Tu-160M level at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. made its first flight. Gobunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" in Kazan strategic bomber Tu-160. The aircraft number is not yet known.
Recall that earlier the first prototype of the modernized Tu-160M strategic bomber was converted from a combat bomber with serial number 4-05 and the name "Igor Sikorsky", which previously had tail number "14" and registration number RF-94103. The aircraft made its first flight after the completion of the re-equipment at the Kazan Aviation Plant on February 2, 2020. Then, new engines NK-32 series 02 (NK-32-02) were installed on the aircraft for testing, the first flight with which at the KAZ airfield was made on November 3, 2020. After completing the flight test phase, this aircraft flew on March 10, 2021to continue testing from Kazan to the flight test and development base of Tupolev PJSC in Zhukovsky.
The second aircraft upgraded to the level of Tu-160M, apparently, was a bomber with serial number 4-01 and the name "Boris Veremey" (previously had tail number "09"). This aircraft with the new registration number RF-94444, immediately equipped with new NK-32 series 02 (NK-32-02) engines, began flight tests in September 2021.
The NK-32-02 engine is a modernized version of the standard NK-32 engine for the Tu-160, and was developed and manufactured by Samara PJSC Kuznetsov (part of PJSC United Engine Corporation of Rostec State Corporation). NK-32-02 is supposed to replace the NK-32 engines on the Tu-160 combat bombers being upgraded to the Tu-160M variant (a total of 15 aircraft are supposed to be upgraded), and should also be installed on the Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers of new production ( a total of 10 aircraft were contracted).
Serial production of NK-32 engines was carried out from 1983 to 1993 at the Kuibyshev (Samara) Research and Production Enterprise "Trud" (now PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" as part of PJSC "United Engine Corporation" - UEC). Since 2013, PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" has been working to resume production of the NK-32 in a modernized form of the "second series". Under the first contract of 2016, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov was supposed to hand over the first four NK-32-02 engines of the pilot batch by the end of 2018, which, in fact, however, were accepted only in August 2020 and then installed on the first modernized prototype Tu-160M. In 2018, PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" received a State contract for the manufacture of 22 more NK-32-02 engines (presumably for three upgraded Tu-160Ms and the first two new-built Tu-160M2s, plus two spares). On August 24, 2021, during the seventh International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2021", the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a new contract with UEC for the supply of eight additional NK-32-02 engines by 2024. In August 2022, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov announced that by this time, in total, it had already supplied 20 NK-32-02 engines.
On January 25, 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Russia in the presence of the President of Russia V.V. Putin signed in Kazan with PJSC Tupolev a contract worth 160 billion rubles for the construction until 2027 of ten new Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers. The first of them made its first flight at the KAZ airfield on January 12, 2022 and is used for testing.
The third modernized at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gorbunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" strategic bomber Tu-160M. Kazan, December 2022 (c) United Aircraft Corporation
The third modernized Tu-160M bomber
[size=13]
As PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC) reported on December 19, 2022, in December 2022, the next improved strategic missile carrier Tu-160M, developed by PJSC Tupolev (part of PJSC UAC, Rostec State Corporation), made its first flight. The third modernized at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gorbunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" strategic bomber Tu-160M. Kazan, December 2022 (c) United Aircraft Corporation PJSC
The press release says that the pilots performed maneuvers to check the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air, the performance of aircraft systems and engines, as well as on-board electronic equipment.
From the side of bmpd, we point out that, apparently, this is how the third model of the upgraded to the Tu-160M level at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. made its first flight. Gobunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" in Kazan strategic bomber Tu-160. The aircraft number is not yet known.
Recall that earlier the first prototype of the modernized Tu-160M strategic bomber was converted from a combat bomber with serial number 4-05 and the name "Igor Sikorsky", which previously had tail number "14" and registration number RF-94103. The aircraft made its first flight after the completion of the re-equipment at the Kazan Aviation Plant on February 2, 2020. Then, new engines NK-32 series 02 (NK-32-02) were installed on the aircraft for testing, the first flight with which at the KAZ airfield was made on November 3, 2020. After completing the flight test phase, this aircraft flew on March 10, 2021to continue testing from Kazan to the flight test and development base of Tupolev PJSC in Zhukovsky.
The second aircraft upgraded to the level of Tu-160M, apparently, was a bomber with serial number 4-01 and the name "Boris Veremey" (previously had tail number "09"). This aircraft with the new registration number RF-94444, immediately equipped with new NK-32 series 02 (NK-32-02) engines, began flight tests in September 2021.
The NK-32-02 engine is a modernized version of the standard NK-32 engine for the Tu-160, and was developed and manufactured by Samara PJSC Kuznetsov (part of PJSC United Engine Corporation of Rostec State Corporation). NK-32-02 is supposed to replace the NK-32 engines on the Tu-160 combat bombers being upgraded to the Tu-160M variant (a total of 15 aircraft are supposed to be upgraded), and should also be installed on the Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers of new production ( a total of 10 aircraft were contracted).
Serial production of NK-32 engines was carried out from 1983 to 1993 at the Kuibyshev (Samara) Research and Production Enterprise "Trud" (now PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" as part of PJSC "United Engine Corporation" - UEC). Since 2013, PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" has been working to resume production of the NK-32 in a modernized form of the "second series". Under the first contract of 2016, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov was supposed to hand over the first four NK-32-02 engines of the pilot batch by the end of 2018, which, in fact, however, were accepted only in August 2020 and then installed on the first modernized prototype Tu-160M. In 2018, PJSC "ODK-Kuznetsov" received a State contract for the manufacture of 22 more NK-32-02 engines (presumably for three upgraded Tu-160Ms and the first two new-built Tu-160M2s, plus two spares). On August 24, 2021, during the seventh International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2021", the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a new contract with UEC for the supply of eight additional NK-32-02 engines by 2024. In August 2022, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov announced that by this time, in total, it had already supplied 20 NK-32-02 engines.
On January 25, 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Russia in the presence of the President of Russia V.V. Putin signed in Kazan with PJSC Tupolev a contract worth 160 billion rubles for the construction until 2027 of ten new Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers. The first of them made its first flight at the KAZ airfield on January 12, 2022 and is used for testing.
The third modernized at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gorbunov - a branch of PJSC "Tupolev" strategic bomber Tu-160M. Kazan, December 2022 (c) United Aircraft Corporation
Last edited by AMCXXL on Wed Dec 21, 2022 3:16 am; edited 1 time in total
GarryB, Big_Gazza, LMFS, Hole, owais.usmani, gc3762, lancelot and like this post
George1- Posts : 18526
Points : 19031
Join date : 2011-12-22
Location : Greece
GarryB likes this post
GarryB- Posts : 40560
Points : 41062
Join date : 2010-03-30
Location : New Zealand
Rather brisk takeoff in dry thrust... it looked like a full AB takeoff in distance and acceleration until it drew level with the camera and showed it was no using AB...
Can anyone translate the information displayed on the video?
Can anyone translate the information displayed on the video?
Begome- Posts : 158
Points : 160
Join date : 2020-09-12
Can anyone translate the information displayed on the video?
It's nothing new, just that it's the third time a modernized Tu-160M takes off for his first flight, that the Tu-160 is still the largest and most powerful supersonic strategic variable-sweep wing missile carrier in all of history and that in the modernized version (Tu-160M) 80% of systems were modernized.
It's nothing new, just that it's the third time a modernized Tu-160M takes off for his first flight, that the Tu-160 is still the largest and most powerful supersonic strategic variable-sweep wing missile carrier in all of history and that in the modernized version (Tu-160M) 80% of systems were modernized.
GarryB likes this post