Russian aircraft "White Swan" - a car,developed by Tupolev Design Bureau, belongs to the class of military aviation. Gathered in the days of the Union. Several machines operate to this day. A distinctive feature of this model is the variable geometry of the wing. According to the class of weapons belongs to the bombers. Like all Tupolev cars, got his “Tu” in the title. Full name of the technical data - Tu-160.
At the moment, the production of the aircraft is discontinued, but rumors periodically appear in the media that it will be resumed, taking into account all the innovations and developments that exist to this day.
The White Swan aircraft is the only class ofAll Russian aviation, which received its name. Perhaps this is due to the fact that such aircraft in Russia is not so much. It may be the matter of exclusivity, but each White Swan also has its own name. These are the names of the famous pilots (Tu-160 "Valery Chkalov") of fairy-tale heroes (Tu-160 "Ilya of Murom") or famous designers and champions.
Interestingly, the cars with tail number "18" in KBthere were two. For the first time this flight number received the first flight pattern. He took to the air on December 18, 1981. The second plane was collected for static experiments, and it did not rise into the air. The next plane (the third one) also became a flight model.
The second car with tail number "18" was already outafter the start of mass production. She got her own name "Andrey Tupolev". According to the manufacturer’s factory (Kazan), it was planned to be restored in 2013.
It is worth noting that a strategic aircraft“White Swan”, as it was later called, cost a lot of money, and was developed only for the needs of the Soviet Union, so the concept of seriality here can be used with great stretch. This model was not exported.
Before going directly tocharacteristics of flight, weapons and capabilities, it should be noted that, unlike other non-serial models, there is a different situation. If you are interested in the question of how many “White Swan” planes are in Russia, it can be recalled that the car began to be assembled during the Union times and could have been assembled to this day if there was a Union. But with the collapse of all productions of the union scale, the assembly stopped here too. Therefore, only 35 cars were assembled that could be understood in the air among them - an order of magnitude less. But according to some media reports, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation plans to bring the park "swans" to 50 units. Along with this, the modernization of old cars is under way, and new ones are being developed.
Having considered the situation of today, we turn tothe history of creation, the development of weapons and other details, without which the White Swan military aircraft simply could not exist, or would have been completely different. After all, at first, the role of the main developer was offered not to Tupolev. But first things first.
В середине 70-х годов прошлого века у Союза there were powerful opportunities for a nuclear attack, and at the same time a clear lag in the class of strategic aviation. This class of those years was represented only by subsonic bombers who could not pass through the air defense of their supposed opponents. Therefore, in 1967, the USSR government issued a decree on the creation of a "new, multi-mode strategic aircraft." Development of the project starts in the offices of Sukhoi and Myasishchev. Tupolev at the time had other orders, so this aircraft was not engaged. It is noteworthy that while developing completely different planes, both bureaus agreed on one thing - in both projects a variable sweep wing appeared.
При этом КБ Сухого отталкивалось от версии Т-4, created by them earlier, and Myasishchev chose a different path - the multimode M-20 bomber was developed at the bureau. It can also be noted that both versions were planned and other modifications - anti-submarine aircraft or high-altitude reconnaissance.
Tupolev Design Bureau connects in 1969, afteras the BBC reviews the plans and assigns specific dates. It should be noted that Tupolev had an advantage over competitors - TU-144, a supersonic passenger liner. Its development has allowed to solve the main problems of pre-and supersonic flight. You can also mention the Tu-22M, the development of which were tested new weapon systems and flight equipment. The project they released most resembled the improved TU-144 and did not pull on the White Swan aircraft. Characteristics of it to a large extent repeated the characteristics of the 144th, but had some new parts, run-in during the production of the TU-22M.
It should be noted that the Air Force recognized the best versionSukhoi is a new T-4M bomber, but the Sukhoi troops at that time began the development of the T-10 (better known as the SU-27), and switching to heavy aircraft would postpone its development for an indefinite period. Therefore, the military made a "Solomon's decision." Sukhovtsy will continue to work on the fighter, but all the materials on the T-4M pass on to Tupolev, who will bring the aircraft to mass production.
Возможно, на этом бы проекты и закончились, и The new White Swan aircraft would have been renamed the T-4M, but Tupolev decided differently. He refused the documentation and decided to continue to develop a new aircraft with variable swept wing. Fixed wing layouts no longer lifted. It should be noted that the Air Force called two basic requirements - transonic flights at low altitude or subsonic at significant. It was in response to these opposing conditions that the aircraft appeared, which later received the code name Tu-160M. “M” in this context meant an upgraded version with the use of new technologies and materials. At the same time, the development of new power plants, chassis, engines and other components began. In total, the White Swan aircraft received details from more than 500 organizations of various profiles.
Despite the rather complicated fate of the Tu-160,besides the main model, they also developed 4 versions of the 160th, differing in different indices and intended for different purposes, as well as the model Tu-161, which has a wider fuselage due to the use of liquid hydrogen engines.
Так, разрабатывалась модель Ту-160ПП — самолет electronic interception. In addition to the life-size model and the definition of the necessary equipment, there were no subsequent actions. The Tu-160P, besides rockets, could have the capabilities of a heavy fighter. Model NK-74 (Tu-160) would receive a special, more powerful powerplant, which would positively affect the range of flights. Finally, the Tu-160K remained only on paper - the project of the missile complex.
As they write reviews on the Internet, this is the most powerful,the heaviest, the best plane "White Swan". Characteristics of flight data: wingspan of 35-55 m. The area of the wing remains unchanged and is 232 square meters. The practical ceiling is 21 km (for comparison: a passenger liner can climb to 11.5). The flight duration can be more than 15 hours, when flying without refueling it will be 12,500 km. The combat radius of 5000 km.
The plane is operated by a team of 4 peoplemoreover, the crew members have the opportunity to get up, warm up. The length of the aircraft is 50 m, height - 13. On board there is a small kitchen and a bathroom. 4 engines are pressed to the fuselage, a pair on each side, capable of developing thrust up to 18,000 kgf, afterburner mode can squeeze out up to 25,000.
Учитывая, что ВВС поручило собрать самолет, able to squeeze supersonic speeds (and only the TU-144 was able to squeeze out such in the Soviet Union) - a supersonic airliner, the speed of the “White Swan” aircraft has been a subject of controversy for a long time. Nevertheless, cruising speed is 920 km / h, and the limit reaches 2300 km / h. The speed is up to 4,000 m / minute. For take-off the car requires a lane of at least 800 m, you can sit on a lane with a length of at least 2 km.
It remains for us to describe another detail thatalways mention when talking about military technology, which is the "White Swan". The plane, the armament of which requires the location of the enemy, is the case with the bomber. But the "swan" does not necessarily appear over the territory of the enemy.
Being a strategic bomber, Tu-160also got the opportunity to use cruise missiles. You can use 2 of their type. These are the Kh-55SM used for hitting targets that have given coordinates (the coordinates of the targets are entered into the memory blocks of the rocket even before the departure of the aircraft). In flight, you can use up to 12 missiles. Or the X-15C, designed to destroy nearby targets - on board you can take 24 missiles of this type.
Интересно, что после модернизации ракетное the armament has become mainstream - the launchers may have to be removed to use bombs. Instead of bombs, you can use sea mines, nuclear bombs or bomb cassettes. Further upgrades of existing machines will allow the use of X-101 and X-555 - the latest missiles, designed for increased range and destruction of targets of almost all classes, regardless of whether they are land or sea.
According to most experts, the aircraft "WhiteSwan ”is several times ahead of its main rivals, the American B-1 and the English Typhoon fighter. The range of the Tu-160M (modernized) flight is 4 times higher than the British, the number of bombs is also several times higher. Engine efficiency is better than the English version. The flight speed is 1.5 times higher than that of an American, the flight range and combat radius is 1.5 times as high. Traction engines almost 2 times stronger. If we compare it with the V-2 (with the modernization of the V-1), the characteristics of which are trimmed wherever possible, the Tu-160 will be better for any parameter.
