Tupolev Tu-22M
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Product details
- ISBN 9780764363542
- Weight: 1873g
- Dimensions: 216 x 279mm
- Publication Date: 30 Oct 2022
- Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
In the late 1960s, the patriarch of Soviet aircraft design, Andrey Tupolev, offered the Soviet air force a supersonic bomber to replace the 1950s-vintage Tu-22 Blinder with a less capable—but cheaper—alternative to the Sukhoi design bureau's proposed T-4 strategic bomber.
Tupolev did not offer it as an "all-new" aircraft but, instead, passed it off as a "massive upgrade" of the Blinder. Thus was born the Tu-22M, Tupolev’s first aircraft with variable swept wings and the ability to carry both bombs and supersonic cruise missiles. In the West, the new bomber became known as the Backfire.
- First flown in 1969, the aircraft entered production in 1972.
- The most widespread version was the Tu-22M3, which soldiers on today with the Russian air force.
- The Backfire has had an active career both in Cold War operations and in "hot" wars, from Afghanistan to Syria, where it has participated in the global war on terrorism.
- This book describes the Tu-22M’s development, including the latest upgrades, and its Soviet and post-Soviet operations.
- Fleet lists are included, as is a detailed design description, and a wealth of color profiles and line drawings.
