The Tupolev Tu-160 Beliy Lebed (or White Swan, NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It is the largest and heaviest Mach 2+ supersonic aircraft ever built and second only to the comparable XB-70 Valkyrie in overall length. It is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft, the fastest bomber currently in use, and is the largest and heaviest variable-sweep wing airplane ever flown.
Entering service in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Union. As of 2016, the Russian Air Force, Long Range Aviation branch has 16 aircraft remaining, with fewer being airworthy and in service. The Tu-160 active fleet has been undergoing upgrades to electronics systems since the early 2000s. The Tu-160M modernisation programme has begun with the first updated aircraft delivered in December 2014.
The first competition for a supersonic strategic heavy bomber was launched in the Soviet Union in 1967. In 1972, the Soviet Union launched a new multi-mission bomber competition to create a new supersonic, variable-geometry (“swing-wing”) heavy bomber with a maximum speed of Mach 2.3, in response to the US Air Force B-1 bomber project. The Tupolev design, named Aircraft 160M, with a lengthened blended wing layout and incorporating some elements of the Tu-144, competed against the Myasishchev M-18 and the Sukhoi T-4 designs.
Work on the new Soviet bomber continued despite an end to the B-1A and in the same year, the design was accepted by the government committee. The prototype was photographed by an airline passenger at a Zhukovsky Airfield in November 1981, about a month before the aircraft’s first flight on 18th December 1981. Production was authorized in 1984, beginning at Kazan Aircraft Production Association.
The modernised aircraft were accepted into Russian service after testing in late 2005. The upgrade also integrated the ability to launch two new conventional versions of the long-range Kh-55 nuclear cruise missile—the Kh-101 and Kh-555. This resulted in the delivery of a new-built aircraft but the “first modernised Tu-160” in July 2006 did not receive new avionics, although they were planned for the new airframe.
The modernisation appears to be split into two phases, concentrating on life extension with some initial communication–navigation updates, followed by 10 aircraft receiving new engines and capability upgrades after 2016. The first refitted aircraft was delivered to the VVS in May 2008; a follow-up contract to overhaul three aircraft in 2013 cost RUR3.4 billion (US$103M). The first updated M-model Tu-160 was delivered in December 2014. The phase I update was due to be completed by 2016, but industrial limitations may delay it to 2019 or beyond. Although Kuznetsov designed an NK-32M engine with improved reliability over the troublesome NK-32 engines, its successor company has struggled to deliver working units. Metallist-Samara JSC had not produced new engines for a decade when it was given a contract in 2011 to overhaul 26 of the existing engines, by two years later, only four were finished. Ownership and financial concerns hinder the prospects of a new production line; the firm insists it needs a minimum of 20 engines ordered per year but the government is only prepared to pay for 4–6 engines per year. A further improved engine has been bench tested and may enter production in 2016 or later.
On 29th April 2015, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Russia was resuming production of the Tu-160. On 28th May 2015, the Russian News Agency TASS reported that the Russian Air Force will purchase at least 50 new-build Tu-160s and that production of the aircraft will restart at the Kazan aviation plant. General Viktor Bondarev has said that development of the PAK DA will continue alongside resumption of production of the older model bomber.
The Tu-160 is a variable-geometry wing aircraft. The aircraft employs a fly-by-wire control system with a blended wing profile, and full-span slats are used on the leading edges, with double-slotted flaps on the trailing edges.
The Tu-160 has a crew of four (pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, and defensive systems operator) in K-36LM ejection seats.
The Tu-160 is powered by four Kuznetsov NK-32 afterburning turbofan engines, the most powerful ever fitted to a combat aircraft. Unlike the American B-1B Lancer, which reduced the original Mach 2+ requirement for the B-1A to achieve a smaller radar cross-section, the Tu-160 retains variable intake ramps, and is capable of reaching Mach 2.05 speed at altitude. The Tu-160 is equipped with a probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling system for extended-range missions, although it is rarely used. The Tu-160’s internal fuel capacity of 130 tons gives the aircraft a roughly 15-hour flight endurance at a cruise speed of around 850 km/h (Mach 0.77, 530 mph) at 9,145 m (30,003 ft). In February 2008, Tu-160 bombers and Il-78 refueling tankers practiced air refueling during air combat exercise, as well as MiG-31, A-50 and other Russian combat aircraft.
The aircraft carries an Leninets Obzor-K (Survey, NATO: Clam Pipe) radar for tracking ground and air targets, and a separate Sopka (Hill) Terrain-following radar. Although the Tu-160 was designed for reduced detectability to both radar (dielectric nose radome) and infrared signature, it is not a stealth aircraft. Nevertheless, Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov claimed that Tu-160s managed to penetrate the US sector of the Arctic undetected on 25th April 2006, leading to a USAF investigation according to a Russian source.
Weapons are carried in two internal bays, each capable of holding 20,000 kg (44,400 lb) of free-fall weapons or a rotary launcher for nuclear missiles; additional missiles may also be carried externally. The aircraft’s total weapons load capacity is 40,000 kg (88,185 lb). No defensive weapons are provided; the Tu-160 is the first post-World War II Soviet bomber to lack such defenses.
A demilitarized, commercial version of the Tu-160, named Tu-160SK, was displayed at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in 1994 with a model of a small space vehicle named Burlak attached underneath the fuselage.
While similar in appearance to the American B-1 Lancer, the Tu-160 is a different class of combat aircraft; its primary role being a standoff missile platform (strategic missile carrier). The Tu-160 is also larger and faster than the B-1B and has a slightly greater combat range, though the B-1B has a larger combined payload. Another significant difference is that the colour scheme on the B-1B Lancer is usually subdued dark gray to reduce visibility; the Tu-160 is painted with anti-flash white, giving it the nickname among Russian airmen “White Swan”.
Weapons are carried in two internal bays, each capable of holding 20,000 kg (44,400 lb) of free-fall weapons or a rotary launcher for nuclear missiles; additional missiles may also be carried externally. The aircraft’s total weapons load capacity is 40,000 kg (88,185 lb). No defensive weapons are provided; the Tu-160 is the first post-World War II Soviet bomber to lack such defenses.
A demilitarized, commercial version of the Tu-160, named Tu-160SK, was displayed at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in 1994 with a model of a small space vehicle named Burlak attached underneath the fuselage.
While similar in appearance to the American B-1 Lancer, the Tu-160 is a different class of combat aircraft; its primary role being a standoff missile platform (strategic missile carrier). The Tu-160 is also larger and faster than the B-1B and has a slightly greater combat range, though the B-1B has a larger combined payload. Another significant difference is that the colour scheme on the B-1B Lancer is usually subdued dark gray to reduce visibility; the Tu-160 is painted with anti-flash white, giving it the nickname among Russian airmen “White Swan”.
Along with the re-purchase of Ukrainian aircraft, Russia’s Defence Ministry sought other ways of rebuilding the fleet at Engels. In June 1999, the Ministry placed a contract with the Kazan Aircraft Production Association for a delivery of a single, almost complete, bomber. The aircraft was the second aircraft in the eighth production batch and it arrived at Engels on 10th September. It was commissioned into service as “07” on 5th May 2000. The unit that was operating the fleet from Engels was the 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment. It formed up in early 1992 and by 1994 it had received 6 aircraft. By the end of February 2001, the fleet stood at 15 with the addition of the eight aircraft from Ukraine and the new-build. As of 2001, six additional Tu-160 have served as experimental aircraft at Zhukovski, four remaining airworthy.
The Air Force fleet was reduced to 14 by the crash of the Mikhail Gromov during flight trials of a replacement engine on 18th September 2003. It would be brought up to 16 aircraft by the completion of a part-built aircraft in June 2006 and the delivery of the Vitaly Kopylov on 29th April 2008. Following acceptance of the testing of the prototype of the long-awaited avionics upgrades the Tu-160 formally entered service with the Russian Air Force by a presidential decree of 30th December 2005.
On 17 August 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was resuming the strategic aviation flights stopped in 1991, sending its bombers on long-range patrols. On 14th September 2007, British and Norwegian fighters intercepted two Tu-160s in international airspace near the UK and Finland. On 25th December 2007, two Tu-160s came close to Danish airspace, and two Danish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons scrambled to intercept and identify them.
According to Russian government sources, on 11th September 2007, a Tu-160 deployed a massive fuel-air explosive device, the Father of All Bombs, for its first field test. Some military analysts expressed skepticism that the weapon was actually delivered by a Tu-160.
On 28th December 2007, the first flight of a new Tu-160 was reported to have taken place following completion of the aircraft at the Kazan Aviation Plant. After flight testing, the bomber joined the Russian Air Force on 29th April 2008, bringing the total number of aircraft in service to 16. One new Tu-160 is expected to be built every one to two years until the active inventory reaches 30 or more aircraft by 2025–2030.
On 10th September 2008, two Russian Tu-160 landed in Venezuela as part of military manoeuvres, announcing an unprecedented deployment to Russia’s ally at a time of increasingly tense relations between Russia and the United States. The Russian Ministry of Defence said Vasily Senko and Aleksandr Molodchiy were on a training mission. It said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies, that the aircraft would conduct training flights over neutral waters before returning to Russia. Its spokesman added that the aircraft were escorted by NATO fighters as they flew across the Atlantic Ocean.
On 12th October 2008, Tu-160 bombers were involved in the largest Russian strategic bomber exercise since 1984. A total of 12 bombers including Tu-160 and Tu-95 aircraft conducted a series of launches of their cruise missiles. Some bombers launched a full complement of their missiles. It was the first time that a Tu-160 had ever fired a full complement of missiles.
On 10th June 2010, two Tu-160 bombers carried out a record-breaking 23-hour patrol with a planned flight range of 18,000 km (9,700 nmi). The bombers flew along the Russian borders and over neutral waters in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans.
Russian media reports in August 2011 claimed that only four of the VVS’ sixteen Tu-160 were flight worthy. By mid-2012 Flight reported eleven were combat-ready and between 2011 and 2013 eleven were photographed in flight.
On 1st November 2013, Aleksandr Golovanov and Aleksandr Novikov went into Colombian airspace on two different occasions without receiving previous clearance from the Colombian Government. The aircraft were going from Venezuela to Nicaragua and headed for Managua. The Colombian Government issued a letter of protest to the Russian Government following the first violation. Two Colombian Air Force IAI Kfirs stationed at Barranquilla intercepted and escorted the two Tu-160s out of Colombian airspace after the second violation.
On 17th November 2015, Russia started using Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22M strategic long-range bombers against targets in Syria, along with Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the Mediterranean. This marked the combat debut of the Tu-160 and Tu-95.
Herpa 1/200th scale Soviet Air Force Tupolev TU-160 “White Swan” “Blackjack” – 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Aerial Regiment (184 GvTBAP), Pryluky AB – 33 red
Flying Tigers has an example of this fantastic aircraft available in 1/200th scale from Herpa which is available to pre-order now. Sure to be a sell out on release, if you want one I would recommend you dont hang about. Please click on the image or link below to go straight to the model page to order.
Precision Model Art… New Range of 1/72nd scale Diecast Diorama Accessories
I have just added a new range of 1/72nd scale Diecast Diorama Accessories from Precision Model Art.
I have only shown the V-2 Rocket below as a taster, but there are many more models in the range. If you would like to see the full range please CLICK HERE to see them all or click on the pictures below to go to the V-2 Rocket of your choice.
New Arrivals at Flying Tigers this week.
The following models have arrived at Flying Tigers this week. Pre-orders have either been dispatched or are on their way to you. Please click on the images or links below to go straight to the model of your choice or CLICK HERE to see them all.
New models available to pre-order
Hobbymaster have announced their latest Vietnam Phantom which is now available to pre-order. Sure to be a great seller, please order yours now to avoid missing out. Please click on the image below to go straight to the model page for details.
Model Aircraft Kits
I have recently added some Model Aircraft Kits in 1/48th scale and 1/32nd scale. These are highly sought after as the quality of these models is outstanding ! Some of these are in stock now and some are available to pre-order. They only come into the U.K. in very limited quantities so if you want one , buy it now and make it in the future, as these model kits get “retired” pretty quickly and you are then at the mercy of the second hand market at higher prices.
I have only shown a few here, please click on the images or links below to go straight to the model kit of your choice or CLICK HERE to see them all.
Bank Holiday Weekend FREE U.K. Postage Offer !
For this weekend you can take advantage of the wide choice of models throughout the website and FREE delivery. Terms and conditions apply, please read the Terms and Conditions of this offer below:-
This Bank Holiday Weekend’s Special Offer is FREE Postage/ Shipping .
This offer is limited to the United Kingdom mainland and Northern Ireland only and the offer starts today and finishes at 12.00 mid-day BST on Tuesday 29th August 2017.
To qualify for FREE postage the delivery address must be within the United Kingdom mainland and Northern Ireland and is limited to total model order of £95.00 or more on a single order.
Offer applies to IN STOCK models only and DOES NOT apply to pre-order models. If orders are received with a mix of IN STOCK and PRE-ORDER models then the FREE postage offer will not apply.
This offer DOES apply to all model sections and includes ALL SALE ITEMS.
Please order in the normal way and your FREE postage will be applied to your order when your models are dispatched and your credit card or PayPal payments will be adjusted for FREE postage at this time.
This offer is subject to availability of stock.
I hope you have a Great Bank Holiday Weekend.
That is all for this week.
Thank you for taking time to read this week’s Newsletter.
Richard.
Flying Tigers.