| Tu-95 | |
|---|---|
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| Tu-95MR | |
| Type | Strategic bomber, naval patrol, missile carrier, airborne surveillance, airliner |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| Designed by | N.I. Bazenkov |
| Maiden flight | November 12, 1952 |
| Introduced | 1956 |
| Status | Active in service |
| Primary user | Russian Air Force Russian Naval Aviation |
| Number built | 500+ |
| Variants | Tu-114 (civilian airliner) Tu-119 (nuclear aircraft) |
The Tupolev Tu-95 (Туполев Ту–95) (NATO reporting name Bear) is the most successful and longest-serving Tupolev strategic bomber and missile carrier built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Tu-95 is still in service, as of 2007, and expected to remain so with the Russian Air Force until at least 2040.[1] The Tu-95 is powered by four Kuznetsov turboprop engines, each driving contra-rotating propellers, and remains the fastest propeller-driven aircraft to go into operational use. Its wings are swept back at 35 degrees, a very sharp angle by the standards of propeller-driven aircraft. To date, it remains the only turboprop-powered strategic bomber to have entered operational service. A naval version of the bomber is designated Tu-142.
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Overview
For a long time, the Tu-95 was known to Western intelligence as the Tu-20. While this was the original Soviet Air Force designation for the aircraft, by the time it was being supplied to operational units it was already better known under the Tu-95 designation used internally by Tupolev. The Tu-20 designation quickly fell out of use in the USSR. Since the Tu-20 designation was used on many documents acquired by Western intelligence agents, the name continued to be used outside the Soviet Union. Like its American counterpart, the B-52 Stratofortress, the Tu-95 has continued to operate in the Russian Air Force while several iterations of bomber design have come and gone. Part of the reason for this longevity was its suitability, like the B-52, for modification to different missions. Whereas the Tu-95 was originally intended to drop nuclear weapons, it was subsequently modified to perform a wide range of roles, such as the deployment of cruise missiles, maritime patrol (Tu-142), and even civilian airliner (Tu-114). An AWACS platform (Tu-126) was developed from the Tu-114. During and after the Cold War, the Tu-95's utility as a weapons platform has been eclipsed only by its usefulness as a diplomatic icon.
History
Development of the turboprop powered Tu-95 began in the 1950s as an intercontinental bomber when the Tu-4 showed that piston engines were not powerful enough to fulfill that role, and the AM-3 jet engines of the proposed T-4 intercontinental jet bomber did not provide it with enough range.[2] The Tu-95 development was officially approved by the government on 11 July 1951, resulting in the test of the first prototype 95/1 on 12 November 1952. Series production of the airplane started in January 1956. Initially the United States Department of Defense did not take the Tu-95 seriously, as estimates showed it had a maximum speed of 400 mph (644 km/h) with a range of 7,800 miles (12,500 km).[3] These numbers had to be revised upward numerous times. It has also been reported that the Tu-95 is so loud that it can be detected by SOSUS, a chain of underwater listening posts in the north Atlantic.
Cold War icon
The Tu-95RT variant in particular was a veritable icon of the Cold War as it performed a vital maritime surveillance and targeting mission for other aircraft and surface ships and submarines. It was identifiable by a large bulge under the fuselage, which housed a radar antenna that was used to search for and target surface ships. The US Navy placed high priority in intercepting the Tu-95RT aircraft at least two hundred miles from the carrier with its F-14 Tomcat interceptors, which would then escort the Tu-95. On occasion, USN Tomcats demonstrated an ability to intercept Tu-95RT aircraft at ranges up to 1,000 miles from the fighters' carrier battle group. During interceptions Tu-95 tail gunners typically kept their twin cannon pointed upwards as to not antagonize the intercepting fighters. Similarly, NATO rules of engagement for interceptions restricted aircrews from locking onto the Tu-95 with fire control radars lest this be misinterpreted as a hostile act. During the height of Cold War, the long range of the Tu-95 was demonstrated weekly as a pair of Tu-95s would fly from the Kola peninsula to Cuba along the east coast of the United States, escorted continuously along the way.
Nuclear bombs
The Tu-95 dropped the Tsar Bomba in 1961.
Encounters in the air
Western fighters were — and are — often sent to intercept Tu-95s as they performed their missions along the periphery of NATO airspace, often in very close formation. This sometimes led to unofficial communication between the two sides.
Concerning the performance of the aircraft, it has been reported by many fighter pilots that the Tu-95 was able to out-accelerate them for a short distance, especially with the SEPECAT Jaguar. There are also tales of the Soviet pilots suddenly swerving to push the escorts off course or cause them to rapidly decelerate. This went both ways, however. In the 1980s a Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 collided with a Tu-95 while escorting it out of Norwegian airspace. Apparently, the Norwegian pilot had been edging closer and closer to the Tupolev before being caught in the prop wash and having a wingtip torn off in the resulting collision. Both planes landed safely.
As late as 1999, Russian Tu-95s, usually flying in pairs, have come within striking distance both of the Iceland/Greenland route of North Atlantic and Alaska/Bering Sea route of North Pacific. In June of 1999, the Tu-95s, along with two Tu-160s, turned back after being intercepted by U.S. fighters. A similar incident occurred in September but the Tu-95s turned back without making contact.
Post-2000 confrontations
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- September 29th, 2006 — NORAD scrambled Canadian CF-18s from CFB Cold Lake in Central Alberta and American F-15s out of an airbase in Alaska to intercept "a number of the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers participating in an annual Russian air force exercise near the coast of Alaska and Canada." This launch was a result of the bombers penetrating the North American Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).[4]
- May 2007 — the Royal Air Force scrambled two Tornado fighters from RAF Leuchars in Scotland to intercept a Tu-95 observing the Royal Navy exercise Neptune Warrior.[5]
- July 2007 — two Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s (from Bodø, Norway) and subsequently two RAF Tornados (from RAF Leeming, England) intercepted two Tu-95s as they allegedly made their way down the Norwegian coast towards Scotland.[6][7]
- August 2007 — two Tu-95s flew towards the U.S. base on Guam, where they were intercepted by U.S. fighter planes. Maj Gen Pavel Androsov of the Russian Air Force told a news conference, "We renewed the tradition when our young pilots flew by Guam in two planes. We exchanged smiles with our counterparts who flew up from a U.S. carrier and returned home."[8][9] However, the Pentagon denied that any aircraft were sent up, saying that the proximity of the bombers was not close enough to prompt a response from the carriers.[10]
- August 17th, 2007 — two RAF Typhoons were launched to intercept and shadow a Tu-95 that had veered towards British airspace over the North Sea. The Tu-95 later turned away from UK airspace.[11]
- September 6th, 2007 — Two Norwegian F-16s tracked eight Tu-95s over the Barents Sea[12] as they neared Norwegian airspace. The bombers flew past Norway and continued towards British airspace where four RAF Tornados were scrambled from RAF Leeming (in two waves of two), before the Russian planes turned away.[13] It was the same day that Canadian Forces' CF-18s and Russian Tu-95s met outside Canadian airspace near Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The CF-18s were scrambled when Tu-95s were seen flying outside Canadian airspace.[14]
- December 24th, 2007 - Two Norwegian F-16s tracked two Tu-95s over the Barents Sea[15] along the borders of Norwegian airpace continuing towards Shetland.
Present and future status
All Tu-95s now in Russian service are the Tu-95MS6 variant, built in the 1980s and 1990s. On August 18, 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Tu-95 patrols would resume after having been terminated 15 years prior.[16] The Indian Navy uses 5 Tu-142's as maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
Variants
- Tu-95/1 - Prototype.
- Tu-95/2 - Prototype.
- Tu-95K - Experimental version for air-dropping a MiG-19 SM-20 jet aircraft.
- Tu-95M-55 - Missile carrier.
- Tu-95N - Experimental version for air-dropping an RS ramjet powered aircraft.
- Tu-96 - high speed bomber project, never got off the ground.
- Tu-119 - Nuclear powered aircraft project. Just like the Tu-96 it did not fly.
- Tu-142LL (Letayushchaya Laboratoriya - Flying Laboratory) - Engine testbed aircraft.
- Bear A (Tu-95/Tu-95M) - Basic variant of the long-range strategic bomber and the only model of the aircraft never fitted with a nose refuelling probe.
- Bear-A (Tu-95U - Uchebnyy) - Training version.
- Bear B (Tu-95K/Tu-95KD) - Designed to carry the AS-3 Kangaroo air-to-surface missile. The Tu-95KD aircraft were the first to be outfitted with nose probes.
- Bear C (Tu-95KM) - Modified and upgraded versions of the Bear B, most notable for their enhance reconnaissance systems. These were in turn converted into the Bear G configuration.
- Bear D (Tu-95RTs - Razvedchik Tseleukazatel') - Variant of the basic Bear A configuration, redesigned for maritime reconnaissance and targeting as well as electronic intelligence (ELINT) for service in the Soviet Naval Aviation. This aircraft was featured in Tom Clancy's techno-thriller Red Storm Rising.
- Bear E (Tu-95MR) - Bear A modified for photo-reconnaissance and produced for Naval Aviation.
- Bear F (Tu-142/Tu-142M) - Originally designed as a maritime surveillance aircraft to supplement the Bear D, the Bear F evolved to become the premier anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. The ASW variants were designated as Tu-142M2 (Bear F Mod 2), Tu-142M3 (Bear F Mod 3), and Tu-142M4 (Bear F Mod 4). This aircraft was featured in the 1990 film adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October.
- Bear G (Tu-95K22) - Conversions of the older Bear bombers, reconfigured to carry the AS-4 Kitchen missile and incorporating modern avionics.
- Bear H (Tu-95MS/Tu-95MS6/Tu-95MS16) - Completely new cruise missile carrier platform based on the Tu-142 airframe. This variant became the launch platform of the Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) cruise missile. The Bear-H was referred to by the U.S. military as a Tu-142 for some time in the 1980s before its true designation became known.
- Bear J (Tu-142MR - Morskoy Razvedchik) - Variant of the Bear F modified for use in submarine communications as well as other command, control and communications (C3) duties.
- Bear T (Tu-95U) - Training variant, modified from surviving Bear A's but now all have been retired.
Several other modification of the basic Tu-95/Tu-142 airframe have existed but these were largely unrecognized by Western intelligence or else never reached operational status within the Soviet military. One of these modified Bears, known as the Tu-95V, was used to drop the Tsar Bomba.
Operators
Current
Russia: Russian Air Force has 64 Tu-95MS Strategic bombers.
India: 8 Tu-142 version for Navy Maritime patrol only
Former
Ukraine (retired from service)
Soviet Union (Long Range Aviation) (passed on to Russia and Ukraine)
The first Tu-95 division, 106th TBAD (Heavy Bomber Air Division), was formed in 1956. The division commander was twice Hero of the Soviet Union A.G. Molodchi.[17] The 106th TBAD incorporated the 409th TBAP (Heavy Bomber Air Regiment ) (commander — Colonel M.M. Charitonov) which was raised late in 1956 and the 1006th TBAP (commander — Colonel V.P. Pavlov) raised in 1956. The 106th TBAD's base was Uzin near Kiev. The 1223rd TBAP in Semipalatinsk, under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union colonel V.M. Bezbokov, was raised in 1957, within the 79th Air Division (commander — twice Hero of the Soviet Union General Major M.P. Taran). The 1223rd TBAP's targets were the north of the USA and Canada.
Specifications (Tu-95MS)
General characteristics
- Crew: Seven - two pilots, one tailgunner, four others
- Length: 49.50 m (162 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 51.10 m (167 ft 8 in)
- Height: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 310 m² (3,330 ft²)
- Empty weight: 90,000 kg (198,000 lb)
- Loaded weight: kg (lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 188,000 kg (414,500 lb)
- Powerplant: 4× Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprops, 11,000 kW (14,800 shp)[18] each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 925 km/h (500 kt, 575 mph)
- Range: 15,000 km (8,100 nm, 9,400 mi)
- Service ceiling 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 606 kg/m² (124 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 235 W/kg (0.143 hp/lb)
Armament
- Radar-controlled Guns: 1 or 2× AM-23 23 mm cannon in tail turret
- Missiles: Up to 15,000 kg (33,000 lb), including the Kh-20, Kh-22, Kh-26, and Kh-55 air-to-surface missiles
References
- ^ http://lenta.ru/articles/2007/07/19/tu95/
- ^ FAS.org - "Tu-95 BEAR (TUPOLEV)"
- ^ Aviation.ru - "Tu-20/95/142 Bear: The fastest prop-driven aircraft."
- ^ http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=2093
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=453672&in_page_id=1770
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2093759.ece
- ^ http://www.airliners.net/discussions/military/read.main/69373
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6938856.stm
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/09/wrussia109.xml
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1745006520070817?pageNumber=2
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6957589.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6981541.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6981541.stm
- ^ http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2007/09/09/4481291-sun.html
- ^ http://www.an.no/nyheter/article3209358.ece
- ^ Russia Resumes Patrols by Nuclear Bombers - New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ 'SSM' manuscript from Yahoo TO&E group
- ^ Originally measured as 15,000 PS.
Related content
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Designation sequence
- Tupolev sequence: Tu-89 - Tu-90 - Tu-91 - Tu-95 - Tu-96 - Tu-98 - Tu-99
- Soviet Air Force sequence: Tu-12 - Tu-14 - Tu-16 - Tu-20 - Tu-22/Tu-22M - Tu-24 - Tu-26
Related lists
See also
External links
- "Bears prowl the Atlantic skies" video report from Russia Today
- Interception Pics from the Cold War -
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ANT-3 · Tu-95 · Tu-142 |
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