In an echo of the Chilly Struggle, Russia's first newly manufactured Tupolev Tu-160M (NATO designation Backfire) supersonic nuclear heavy bomber accomplished its maiden flight on January 12, reaching a peak of 600 m (2,000 ft) throughout its 30-minute check.
Nonetheless awaiting its paint livery in its mild inexperienced primer coat, the modernized Tu-160M took to the skies beneath the command of United Plane Company (UAC) check pilots from the Kazan Aviation Plant airfield the place the bomber was assembled. The brief check was supposed to examine the soundness and controls of the plane earlier than occurring to the extra formidable testing phases.
The check flight marks the start of renewed full manufacturing of the Tu-160M after the completion of testing of an all-new prototype bomber that first flew on February 2, 2020. Manufacturing will embody an preliminary tranche of 10 airframes beneath a state contract between the Ministry of Business and Commerce of Russia and Tupolev PJSC, a fully-owned subsidiary of majority Russian state-owned UAC, with a full run of fifty models deliberate.
The revival of manufacturing of the TU-160M marks a big change in Russian navy coverage. Solely 16 have been reported as in service in 2016. Now, after a choice by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the plane is returning to full manufacturing of all-new plane for the primary time for the reason that line was shut down after the autumn of the Soviet Union.
That is vital as a result of the Tu-160 is notoriously costly to construct and several other earlier makes an attempt to revive manufacturing have didn't, pardon the pun, get off the bottom and have normally solely resulted in work on finishing or upgrading previous airframes from Russia or bought from Ukraine, which inherited a number of the bombers after the autumn of communism.
Because of this, the revival of the Tu-160 means the reestablishment of entire manufacturing traces and the relearning of previous expertise, equivalent to titanium vacuum welding, in addition to introducing digital applied sciences.
The Tu-160M, also called the White Swan, is legendary not solely as a relic of the multi-decade battle of the Warsaw Pact versus NATO and its allied powers, it is usually on the document books as the biggest and heaviest supersonic fight plane, the quickest bomber ever flown, and the biggest and strongest supersonic plane with variable wing geometry ever constructed.
First flown in 1982, the Tu-160 was initially designed as a solution to the US Air Drive B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber that was designed to ship nuclear bombs by way of Soviet air defenses. Although the People curtailed manufacturing of the B-1 and the B-1B variant, improvement and manufacturing continued on the Tu-160.
The outcome was an plane with a crew of 4 that was bigger than the B-1B, and can also be sooner and with a barely bigger fight vary. At 54 m (177 ft) lengthy and with a wingspan of 55 m (183 ft) when the swept wings are absolutely prolonged, the Tu-160 has a most takeoff weight of 275,000 kg (606,271 lb). It was initially powered by 4 Samara NK-321 afterburning turbofan engines, producing 55,000 lb every and pushing the bomber to a most velocity of Mach 2.05 and a cruising velocity of Mach 0.9 at a variety of 12,300 km (7,600 miles), although these engines have now been changed with a brand new collection of NK-32 engines, which enhance the flight vary by 1,000 km (620 miles).
Whereas able to carrying 45,000 kg (99,208 lb) of gravity nuclear bombs in its two inner bays, the Tu-160 is extra correctly thought to be a missile provider as a result of its customary load is a revolving launcher for Raduga Kh-55SM/101/102/555 cruise missiles or 12 AS-16 Kickback short-range nuclear missiles. The Tu160M will even be capable of discipline the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
Along with the brand new Tu-160M bombers, the present Tu-160 fleet is being upgraded to Tu-160M requirements, which incorporates new flight, navigation, communications, and management programs, in addition to new radar and digital countermeasures.
The primary of the brand new Tu-160Ms is scheduled for supply to the Russian Air Drive in 2023.
"We now have restored the complete manufacturing cycle of the Tu-160, however already within the M modification, utilizing modernized engines, modernized plane management programs, navigation programs, and weapons management programs" mentioned Denis Manturov, Minister of Business and Commerce of the Russian Federation. "The modernization of the Kazan Aviation Plant performed an essential function in restoring the manufacturing of distinctive plane: the tools of the outlets, the flight check base was up to date, the world's largest set up for electron beam welding and vacuum annealing of titanium was put into operation. Right this moment we see vital prospects for the Tu-160 platform: additional improvement will make it doable to make use of it for brand new varieties of weapons, together with promising ones."
Supply: UAC
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