Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack-The Russian Answer to the B-1

130 Pages·2003·119.67 MB·English

by  Yefim Gordon

Vefim Gordon
Tupolev TU-160
Blackjack
Russia's AnslNer to the B·1
Yefim Gordon
Original translation by Dmitriy Komissarov
Midland Publishing
TupolevTu-160: Russia'sAnswertotheB-1 ©2003MidlandPublishing Contents
©2003YefimGordon Designconceptandlayout
ISBN1857801474 byPolygonPressLtd.(Moscow,Russia)
ColourartworkbyVasiliyV.Zolotov
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Tel:[phone] Fax:[phone] ThisbookisillustratedwithphotosbyYefim 1. TheGreatContest-
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VictorDrushlyakov, HugoMambour,TupolevJoint 2. TakingShape-
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3. Testsand Production-
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TheBlackjackBecomesReality ....35
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Titlepage:TheTu-160makesadistinctive Below:Anicestudyof'12Red',thefirstTu-160tobe
impressionwhenapproachinghead-onwiththe demonstratedtotheWest.Notethefiveauxiliary
wingsatfullsweep. blow-indoors;asixthdoorwasaddedonlateaircraft.
-
-
--
2
Introduction
It is a generally known fact that the Soviet Andrey Nikolayevich Tupolev (OKB-156), itch'wasrunningthecountryandheavystrike
Union and the United States were allies dur Vladimir MikhaYlovich Myasishchev (OKB-23), aircraftwereoutoffavour. Fewweredestined
ingtheSecondWorldWar.Soonaftertheend Robert Lyudvigovich Bartini (OKB-938) and to reach the hardware stage and evenfewer
ofthehostilities,however,Europefound itself Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi (OKB-51) evolved weretoseetheendoftheirtestprogrammes
dividedaccordingtothestrategicinterestsof manyprojectswhichwereoftenaheadoftheir - not because they showed disappointing
thetwo superpowers and co-operation gave time but never got offthe drawing board. In performance, mindyou; onthecontrary,they
way to animosity. The North Atlantic Treaty theTupolevOKBtheseincludedthe recently weremuchtoo advancedandthuswerecon
Organisation (NATO)wasformed in1949,fol declassified 'aircraft 125' (Tu-125) and 'air sidered athreatbytheICBMlobbyl
lowed in 1955 by its Soviet counterpart, the craft 135' (Tu-135) strategic missile carriers, In keeping withthis policyall work onthe
Warsaw Pact military bloc. The two were in information on which has recently been pub Myasishchev M-50 and M-52 strategic
constantconfrontation inthemorethanthree lished inthepopularpress. TheSovietUnion bombers (NATO reporting name Bounder)
decades that followed; more than once it was actively pursuing ICBM programmes, was terminated in the early 1960s and the
seemedthattheColdWargoing on between especially in the years when Nikita Sergeye MyasishchevOKBitselfwasliquidated (fortu
the East and the West would escalate into a vich Khruschchov with his famous 'missile nately to be reborn later). The Sukhoi T-4
full-blown 'hot' war- the Third World War. In
short,theSovietUnion andtheUnitedStates
were,asalinefromanearly1980ssongwent,
cowboysandIndiansoftoday.
Spurred by politicians and generals on
both sides ofthe Iron Curtain, the arms race
offered huge opportunities for developing
newtechnologiesbuttookaheavytollonthe
economic health of the Soviet bloc nations
which would not be outdone by the West in
anything- especiallyindefencematters. The
confrontation betweentheEastandtheWest
accelerated militarytechnologydevelopment
considerably, especiallyasfarasmissileand
aircraft design was concerned. For many
years itwas a neck-and-neck race; now and
then one of the superpowers would gain a
leadandtheopposing sidewould then strive
to catch up. For instance, in the late 1950s
andearly1960stheSovietUnionledtheway Aboveandbelow:awoodenwindtunnelmodeldepjctingoneoftheconfigurationsoftheprojected
Tu-135missilecarrier.Theenginesareplacedinpairednacelles;notetheanhedralontheouterwings.
in intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
development,whereastheUSAplaceditsbet
on strategic bombers. The military balance
betweenthetwo nations andthetwo military
blocs remained virtually untilthe early 1990s
- thatis, untilthedemiseoftheSovietUnion.
Quite often the decisions on new
weapons systemsdevelopmenttaken bythe
Soviet political and military elite were out of
touch with reality, not correlating with the
nation's economic capabilities and running
contrary to common sense. On the other
hand,Sovietdesignerswerequiteamatchfor
theirWestern colleagues (and often bettered
them), and their creative endeavours were
mostly hampered by political decisions and
themyopicviews ofthemilitarytopbrass.
The field ofstrategic bomberdesign is a
prime example. The design bureaux led by
3
the USA's decision to launch the AMSA
(Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft) pro
gramme, which emerged as the Rockwell
International B-1 bomber. A request for pro- .
posals (RFP) was issued bythe Soviet gov
ernment for the development of a new
multi-mission, multi-mode strike aircraft pos
sessing intercontinental range; this culminat
ed inthe nowworld-famousTu-160 bomber/
missilestrikeaircraftknowntotheWest- and
to many people in its home country - under
the NATO reporting name Blackjack. This
book tells the story of how this advanced
Sovietweapons system was born amid a lot
ofcontentionanddeviousschemes.
Above:AnotherprojectconfigurationoftheTu-135withasinglefinandrudder;theenginesarelocatedin Acknowledgements
asinglepackageunderthewingcentresection. Theauthorwishesto express hisgratitudeto
a number authors whose publications were
strategic missile carrier (aka izdeliye (prod chance against the well-equipped, modern used as sources in the preparation of this
uct) 100), with an advanced all-titanium air air defences of the 'potential adversary' (ie, book, notably Vladimir G. Rigmant (Tupolev
frame which had begun its test programme NATO). Conversely, the Americans consis OKB) whosein-depth research ofthesubject
successfully was similarlyvictimised in 1974 tently developed and refined the aviation deservesspecial mention. Thanks goalsoto
aftermaking onlyten testflights. Thus, while componentoftheirnuclearattackforce. DmitriyKomissarovwho,withhisusualatten
possessing largenuclearattackassetsinthe It was not until 1967, several years after tiontodetail,madeusefuladditionstothetext
form of ICBMs, bythe mid-1970s the Soviet theendoftheKhruschchovera,thattheSovi at the translation stage. Finally, the author
Unionhadonlyasmallstrategicbomberarm etmilitaryturned their attentionto the much would liketothanktheBelgian photographer
equipped with TupolevTu-95Bearand Mya neglectedstrategicbomberarmoftheSoviet HugoMambourand the Ukrainian photogra
sishchev M-4 (3M) Bison bombers. These Air Force 0NS - Voyenno-vozdooshnwe pherSergeyPopsuyevich,bothofwhomsup
obsolescent subsonic aircraft stood no seely).Thischangeofheartwaspromptedby pliedexcellentphotosused inthis book.
ThehighlysophisticatedSukhoiT-4(izdeliye 100)strategicbomberwasaheadofitstimeandwasvictimisedbythefightfororderswithintheMinistryofAircraft
Industry;however,experienceaccumulatedwithitenabledtheSukhoiOKStodeveloptheT-4MSbomberproject.Illustratedisthesoleprototype('101 Yellow').
4
Chapter1
The Great Contest
You Win Only to Lose
On 28th November 1967 the Soviet Union's structural materials, detail design features TheOKBhadtoseekothersolutions.The
Council of Ministers issued directive and the manufacturing technologies mas generalarrangementofthefutureT-4MShad
NO.1098-378orderingthecommencementof tered duringtheT-4programme. to meetthefollowing main criteria. The inter
design work on what was referred to as a Several general arrangements of the nalvolume hadto be maximisedwhilekeep
strategicintercontinentalaircraft;thiswasthe T-4MSwerestudiedatthepreliminarydesign ing the surface area (and hence drag) to a
RFP mentioned earlier. The design bureaux (PD) stage. Atfirst the engineers considered minimum.Theweaponsbayshadtobecapa
participating in the tender were required to simplyscalinguptheearlierT-4Mprojectfea cious enough to accommodate the required
develop a delivery vehicle possessing out turingVGwings (akaizdeliye1001;theIstood range ofarmament. The structure had to be
standing performance. Suffice it to say that for izmenyayemaya strelovidnost' - variable asstiffaspossibletopermithigh-speedultra
cruising speed at 18,000m (z59,000ft) was sweep). However,theysoon realised itwasa low-leveloperations. (Thisflight mode,which
specified as 3,200-3,500 km/h (1,987-2,174 bad idea; this approach led to a dramatic increased the chances of penetrating the
mph; 1,730-1,890 kts); range in this mode increase in the bomber's overall dimensions enemy'sairdefences, placed high demands
was 11,000-13,000 km (6,830-8,075 miles). andstructural weightwhile stilloffering insuf on structural strength because in low-level
Maximum range in high-altitude subsonic ficient internal space for weapons stowage. flight turbulence might occur and terrain
cruise and at sea level was to be 16,000
18,000 km (9,940-11,180 miles) and 11,000
13,000kmrespectively.Thearmamentwasto
vary according to the nature ofthe mission,
consisting of air-to-surface missiles - four
Kh-45Molniya (Lightning)missiles,ortwenty
four Kh-2000 missiles etc. - or free-fall and
guided bombsofvarioustypes. The missiles
were productsoftheMoscow-basedRaduga
design bureau (MKB Raduga, pronounced
rahdooga- Rainbow),althoughdevelopment
oftheKh-45had been initiated bytheSukhoi
OKB as the main weapon for the T-4. The
specified maximum ordnance load was 45
tons (99,200Ib).
Two design bureaux - the Sukhoi OKB
andtheMyasishchevOKB (which,asalready
mentioned, was reborn in the mid-1960s)
took onthetask; theTupolevOKBwas prob
ablynotinapositiontojointhecontestatthis
stage,havingotherimportantprogrammesto TwoviewsofadisplaymodeloftheSukhoiT-4MS(izdeliye200),showingtheflattenedtriangularlifting
body,themovableouterwingsatminimumsweep,theengineplacementandthehugenoseradome.
complete. Proceeding from the government
directive and the provisional operational
requirementissuedbytheWS,thetwoOKBs
had completed their advanced development
projects in the early 1970s. Both contenders
were four-engined aircraft with variable
geometry (VG) wings but utilised completely
differentaerodynamiclayouts.
The Sukhoi OKB started work on a two
modestrategicbomberbearingthemanufac
turer'sdesignationT-4MSorizdeliye200.The
engineers paid special attention to ensuring
maximum commonality with the earlier T-4
sans suffixe (izdeliye 100). Among other
things, the powerplant consisting of four
16,OOO-kgp (35,273-lb st) Kolesov RD36-41
afterburning turbojets was retained. So were
the predecessor's systems and equipment,
5
avoidancemanoeuvresmaybeneeded.)The
ProjectspecificationsoftheSukhoiT·4MSbomber powerplanthadtobelocatedexternallysoas
to facilitate eventual re-engining (ie, buried
Powerplant: engines were out of the question because
projectStageA 4xKolesovRD36-41 integratingnewenginesmightrequire drastic
projectStageB 4xK-101 structural changes). Finally,thelayout hadto
Enginepower,kgp(Ibst): offerthe potential of continuously improving
projectStageA 4x16,000(4x35,270) theaircraft's performanceand handling.
projectStageB 4x20,000(4x44,090) As work progressed onthefinal versions
Thrust/weightratioattake-offpower: oftheT-4M projectutilisingtheso-calledinte
projectStageA 0.38 gral or blended wing/body (BWB) layout
projectStageB 0.47 where the fuselage contributes a large
Wingloadingforoverallwingarea,kg/m2(Ib/sqIt) 335(68.6) amountoflift,SukhoiOKBengineersdecided
Lengthoverall 41.2m(135It2in) thata'flyingwing'BWBlayoutwouldmeetthe
Heightonground 8.0m(26It3in) demands described above. A while earlier,
Wingspan: their colleagues at the Tupolev OKB had
innerwings 14.4m(47It3in) arrived at the same conclusion. Unlike
atminimumsweep(30') 40.8m(133It10~in) Tupolev, however,theSukhoiOKBproposed
atmaximumsweep(72') 25.0m(82ItXin) variable-geometry wings with movable outer
Landinggeartrack 6.0m(19lt8Xin) portions of relatively small area. This 'flying
Landinggearwheelbase 12.0m39It4~in) wing'l'swingwing'combinationwasprobably
Outerwingarea,m2(sqIt): uniqueinaircraftdesign practice.
atmaximumsweep 73.1 (786) Known in-house as 'version 2B', the 'fly
atminimumsweep 97.5(1,048) ingwing'l'swing wing' layoutwas developed
Innerwingarea,m2(sqIt) 409.2(4,400) inAugust1970byengineerL.I.Bondarenko.
Overallwingarea,m2(sqIt): Induecourse itwas approved by PDsection
atmaximumsweep 482.3(5,186) chief Oleg S. Samoylovich, then by the
atminimumsweep 506.8(5,449) TAMS's chief project engineer N. S. Cherni
Innerwingleadingedgesweep kovandfinally by General DesignerPavel O.
Outerwingleadingedgesweep Sukhoi, and served as the basis for the
atmaximumsweep 72' advanceddevelopmentproject.
atminimumsweep 3D' Wind tunnel tests at the Central Aerody
Aspectratiowithrespecttooverallwingarea: namics & Hydrodynamics Institute named
atmaximumsweep 1.14 after Nikolay Yeo Zhukovskiy (TsAGI - Tsen
atminimumsweep 3.3 trahl'nyy aero- i ghidrodinamicheskiy insti
Emptyweight,kg(Ib) 123,000(271,160) toot) showedthatthechosenlayoutoffereda
Maximumtake-offweight,kg(Ib) 170,000(374,780) highlift/dragratioinbothsubsonicandsuper
Normaltake-offweight,kg(Ib) 170,000(374,780) sonic modes. Actually 'high' istoo modesta
Internalfuelload,kg(Ib) 97,000(213,845) description; the results were truly fantastic
Ordnanceload,kg(Ib): an LID ratio of 17.5 at Mach 0.8 and 7.3 at
normal(internal) 9,000(19,840) Mach 3.0. The new integral layout also took
maximum(internalbaysandexternalhardpoints)* 45,000(99,200) care of aeroelasticity problems. The limited
Topspeed,km/h(mph;kts): areaofthemovableouterwings,coupledwith
atsealevel 1,100(683;595) the stiff structure of the wing centre
ataltitude 3,200(1,987;1,730) section/fuselage (lifting body), enabled high
Cruisingspeed,km/h(mph;kts): speedflightatlowaltitude.
above18,000m(59,000It) 3,000-3,200(1,863-1,987;1,621-1,730) Work on defining and refining the
atmediumaltitude 800-900(497-559;432-486) advanced development project (ADP) of
atsealevel 850(528;459) izdeliye 200 to the degree when it could be
MaximumrangewithK-101 enginesatcruisingspeed submitted for the tender continued through
withnormalwarload,internalfuelonly,km(miles): out1971.Windtunnel modelsweremanufac
above18,000m(59,000It) 9,000(5,590) tured that year, allowing differentversions of
atmediumaltitude 14,000(8,695) thelifting body, outerwings,verticaland hori
Take-offrun,m(It) 1,100(3,610) zontal tail to be tested in TsAGI's wind tun
Landingrun,m(It) 950(3,120) nels. The tests showed that the TAMS was
Crew 3 catastrophicallyunstable becausethecentre
Armament: of gravity shifted too radically when wing
long-rangeair-to-surfacemissiles 4xKh-45 sweep was altered. Chief project engineer
s.hort-rangeair-to-surfacemissiles 24xKh-15 N.S.Chernikovdecidedtoalterthelayout.As
bombs/totalweight,kg(Ib) 45,000(99,200) a result, several project versions emerged
featuring an extended nose and additional
*withpartialfuelload (conventionally placed) horizontal tail sur
faces; one ofthem (version 8) had a needle
sharpnosecone.
6
Theconfigurationselectedeventuallyfea
tured an extended forward fuselage with an
extremely streamlined flight deck canopy so
thatthe upperfuselage contour was virtually
unbroken; apart from this, there were no
changes as compared to the original ADP.
The T-4MS project was completed in Sep
tember1971.Thebomber'sdesignspecifica
tionsaregiven inthetableon page6.
Nowwewillturnourattentiontothecompeti
tor.TheMyasishchevOKS (officiallyknown as
EMZ Eksperimentahl'nw mashi-nos
troitel'nw zavod, experimental machinery
plant)receivedordersfromtheMinistryofAir
craft Industry (MAP - Ministerstvo aviatsion
naypromyshfennostt)todevelopaPOproject
ofastrategicmulti-modemissilecarrierasfar
backas 1968.Thiswasto beamulti-mission
strike aircraft with three distinct operational Aboveandbelow:Withthewingsfullysweptback,theT-4MShadanalmostperfectlytriangularshape.
configurations. Theentiretr ";ngedgeoftheliftingbodybetweentheenginenozzleswasafour-sectionelevator.
The EMZ design team setto work with a
will,ignitedbytheenthusiasticapproachofits
leader,VladimirM. Myasishchev.Theproject
wasknownin-houseastemadvahdsat'('sub
ject 20'), alias the M-20 multi-mode
bomber/missile carrier. The basic strike/
reconnaissance configuration was intended
for attacking remote targets of strategic
importance with nuclear-tipped missiles or
bombs and performing strategic reconnais
sance. The second configuration was a
counter-air version designed to seek and
destroy transport aircraftflying transoceanic
routes and airborne earlywarning (AEW) air
craft. Finally, the third version was a long
range anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft
intended to seek and destroy submarines at
upto5,000-5,500km (2,700-2,970nm) away
from base. The aircraft's maximum range in
subsonic cruise was specified as 16,000
18,000km (9,940-11,180 miles).
As he did before, V. M. Myasishchev
believedthecreationofaheavyfaststrikeair
craft to bethe main task of his reborn OKS.
After the PO work on 'subject 20' had been
completed hesucceeded in gettingthe EMZ
entered into the tender for the supersonic
strategic missile carrier. MAP orders to this
effect were issued on 15th September 1969
(No. 285), 17th September 1970 (No. 134)
and 9th October 1970 (No. 321). The OKS
startedwork onanewproject- tema vosem
nahdsat' ('subject18'),alias M-18.
On15thFebruary1971 Myasishchevdeliv
eredareporttotheassembledrepresentatives
ofvariousresearchestablishmentsandOKSs,
describingtheprogresstheEMZhadmadeon
theprogrammejointlywith TsAGI andseveral
researchinstituteswithintheframeworksofthe
MinistryofDefence,theMinistryofElectronics
Industryandthe MinistryofDefenceIndustry.
In his report he pointed out that the general
operational requirement (GOR) for the new Anartist'simpressionoftheT-4MS(izde/iye200)inflight.NotethesmallareaoftheflightdeckglaZing.
7
Above:AnotherdesktopmodeloftheT-4MS.Thisonefeaturesalargerflightdeckglazingarea.
Athree-viewoftheT-4MSillustratingthestalkyundercarriagewith12-wheelmainbogies.Thediagramontherightshowstheplacementofthe24RadugaKh-15
missiles.
8
Above:AdisplaymodeloftheMyasishchevM-20inoneofitsmanyprojectconfigurationsfeaturingatail-firstlayout.Notethethreeeight-wheelmaingear
bogiesandthebifurcatedairintakeservingallfourengines.
ThisversionoftheM-20featuredacommonnacelleforallfourengines;thebifurcatedairintakewithverticalflowcontrolrampsdividedintochannelsflanking
theweaponsbay.
9