This article was originally published in the August 2003 issue of Ordnance Magazine. This reprint has been re-improved and edited, supplemented and sorted out by the secondary content, so as to share with the same friends. Personally, I think that "Weapons" magazine is a professional and objective military magazine, and it is recommended to continue to subscribe to enrich their military knowledge. Reprinting some of the older articles on them is mainly to let readers examine the things and opinions of the past from another and more unique perspective.
Side view of active strategic bombers
preface
Strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic nuclear submarines are the three major means of delivery of nuclear weapons, of which only strategic bombers have actual combat experience in nuclear weapons throwing, which is considered to be the strategic "long sword" that best reflects a country's nuclear strike capability. Strategic bombers were one of the three pillars of the Soviet Union's strategic nuclear deterrent force. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, although Russia inherited most of its air-based strategic nuclear forces, its strategic bombers became a phoenix of shipwrecks, once disappearing from the blue sky and people's sights. In recent years, especially after entering the 21 st century, the Russian strategic bomber, which has just woken up from a big dream, has changed its previous state of sluggishness, regained its spirit, and flapped its wings and long-distance skies, which not only repeatedly demonstrated the powerful power of the Russian army's long-range strategic bomber units, but also provoked the United States and other Western countries to grit their teeth and hate and fear it.
Figure 22 and Figure 160 bombers on the air show
The Russian strategic bomber is subordinate to the long-range aviation unit of the Air Force, and has an air force group army, that is, the 37th Army Group and two long-range bombing aviation divisions, equipped with three types of strategic bombers, the Tu I 22M3 "Backfire", the Tu I 95MS "Bear" and the Tu I 160 "Pirate Flag". Western countries refer to the three brothers of the "Tu" family as the "troika" of Russia's air-based nuclear strike force. The Russian Air Force has clearly stated that Russia will modernize the existing strategic bombers, extend their service life, increase the number of aircraft, develop and equip new cruise missiles, and prepare to fly to the world. The development trend of Russian strategic bombers at the beginning of the 21st century can be seen here.
Burning "Backfire"
The FIG 1-22M is nominally an improved version of the T.1-22 medium tactical bomber, but its real identity is the Tu-26. It was a supersonic variable swept-wing medium-sized strategic bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s, which took off from the Lviv base in the western Soviet Union and could attack all European countries except Portugal and Norway, and could directly strike targets on the U.S. mainland after aerial refueling. NATO countries jokingly call Figure 1 22 "eye mask", and Figure 1 22M is called "backfire", which shows that the attitudes towards the two are very different.
Soviet Air Force Tu-22 "eyecuff" supersonic bomber
From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, the first generation of supersonic bombers in the United States and the Soviet Union, the B-58 and Tu-22, were born. In the early 1960s, the United States proposed a 3-speed YB-70 supersonic strategic bomber program. In order to counter the new moves of the United States, coupled with the inability of the Tu-22 to carry out strategic tasks, the Soviet Union began to develop the Tu-22M from the mid-1960s. American satellites first discovered the Tu-1 22M prototype in the Kazan region in July 1970. The Tu-22M was delivered to the Russian Air Force from 1974 onwards, but was not publicly unveiled until 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, at the Moscow International Air Show. The Reason why the Soviet Union insisted that it was just a modification of the Tu-22 tactical bomber was designed to evade the restrictions of the Soviet-American Strategic Arms Disarmament Treaty at that time. In the second phase of the Soviet-American negotiations in 1975, the Tu-22M became one of the focal points of the quarrel between the two sides, and eventually each side made concessions, and together with the US cruise missile, the Tu-22M was not included in the restricted scope of strategic weapons and could continue to be retained and developed.
Although the United States tried its best to prevent it, the "backfire" was burning more and more vigorously, and the Figure I 22M has developed three models, namely Figure I 22M1, Figure I 22M2 and Figure I 22M3, which NATO accordingly calls ''Backfire'-A,'Backfire'-B and "Backfire"-C type. By 1991, the Soviet Union had produced 370 strategic bombers equipped with various types of "backfire". Among them, the Figure I 22M1 and M2 have been eliminated successively, and the last improved Tuyi 22M3 first flew on June 20, 1977, followed by a lengthy operational assessment and officially entered service in 1981. The Russian Air Force currently has 125 aircraft and nearly 30 in Ukraine. On 5 August 2002, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that it would destroy the existing Tu-22 bombers by 2005.
Dismantled Tu-22 bomber
Figure-22M nose close-up
Figure 1 22M3 adopts a variable swept wing layout, and its cantilevered lower wing can change the swept angle between 20 ° and 65 ° as needed. The powertrain uses two NK-25 turbofan engines with a combat range of 7,000 kilometers. Although it inherits the basic structure of the Tu-22 tactical bomber, its performance has been reborn as a strategic bomber with initial intercontinental capabilities, which can carry both strategic nuclear bombing and tactical bombing, especially can carry high-power anti-ship missiles, long-range rapid attacks, and attack US aircraft carrier battle groups. The aircraft uses an interchangeable component magazine, and the actual payload is configured in the form of two KH-22 long-range missiles under the wing, six KH-15P anti-radiation missiles in the belly magazine, or 3 KH-22 long-range missiles (1 in the 2 bomb bays under the wing), or 10 anti-radiation missiles (6 in the two groups of 4 bombing chambers under the wing), and can also carry UPAB-1500 laser-guided bombs, and a double-barreled 23 mm cannon is installed in the tail for self-defense. The 1985 Tu-22M3 was tested for low-altitude high-speed flight and demonstrated a good low-altitude penetration capability. Equipped with long-range detection radar, bomb navigation radar and friend or foe identifier with ground and sub-sea vision capabilities, the aircraft surpasses the early American B-58 and is almost the same as the FB-111 strategic bomber.
Fig. 1 The vertical tail of the 22M3 and the vertical twin-mounted tail gun
Figure 1 22M3 played the role of a "heavy gunner" in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, dropping two types of bombs weighing 1.5 tons and 3 tons into Afghanistan. Although it is clearly outdated today, it is still the killer of the Russian Air Force's long-range bombing aviation. The Russian Air Force frequently uses it in military exercises, and modifies it to extend its life, update airborne radar, navigation equipment and new weapon systems, and extend its service life to 2020, which shows that the "backfire" will continue to burn for a long time.
At the same time, Russia has also introduced the Tuyi 22M3 to the international market, and Iran and India have proposed to buy it, and potential customers also include North Korea. Russia has signed an agreement with Iran to export $2 billion worth of weapons and equipment to Iran, including 12 Tuli-22M3 strategic bombers. Western countries pointed out that if Iran is equipped with such an aircraft, its combat scope will cover the entire Gulf region, from Istanbul, Tel Aviv and Cairo in the west to Pakistan and the northern Arabian Sea in the east. In December 1999, India announced that it would lend Russia four Tu-22M3 strategic bombers to enhance its air-based nuclear strike capabilities. It was originally planned to be delivered in June 2000, but the implementation of the plan was not smooth, and it was not until 2001 that a formal agreement was reached between the two countries, which will be delivered after 2002.
The Awakening Arctic "Bear"
The Russian Tu-95ms strategic bomber broke through the clouds
The Soviet Tu-95 strategic bomber is a veritable Cold War veteran. It is a real pair of old enemies with the American B-52 strategic bomber. They were developed at the same time, with similar performance, and during the Cold War, they were all a ''' Damocles sword hanging high above the heads of the other country.". During the era of confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, nuclear deterrence relied not only on intercontinental ballistic missiles to maintain a high degree of combat readiness and nuclear submarines for combat patrols, but also on strategic aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons to conduct combat patrols in predetermined areas. In this context, Figure I 95 and B-52 each show their abilities. The B-52 often conducted combat patrols along the northern border of the Soviet Union, while Figure 195 conducted patrol flights over four areas over neutral waters in the Arctic. From January 1985 to April 1987, the total flight time of the Tu-95 bombers reached 1224 hours, and even the aerial refueling tankers flew 755 hours. Its frequency can be imagined.
Figure I 95 strategic bomber
Figure-95ms with B-52
The Soviet Union began to develop Tuyi 95 in the early 1950s. At that time, the technical requirements were: intercontinental range and the ability to perform strategic nuclear bombing missions at high altitude and at high speed. The prototype first flew in 1954 and entered service two years later. NATO nicknamed it "Bear," but the Soviets proudly called it "The Bear with Wings." Figure 195 lived up to expectations, becoming the first Soviet bomber to fly across the Arctic to the United States for strategic nuclear bombing, and could perform reconnaissance, maritime patrols, and anti-submarine tasks; over the decades, Figure 195 developed a variety of variants: in the early 1980s, the Tu-95MS, which could carry long-range cruise missiles, was introduced, and in 1984, the initial combat capability was formed. FIG. 1 95MS is the final modification of FIG. 1 95. NATO calls it the "bear"-H. The first encounter in Western countries was figure 1 95MS in May 1985. F-16 fighters of the Norwegian Air Force's 331st Squadron, which was patrolling the barents sea at the time, captured a picture of a 95MS. By the time of the discontinuation of production in the autumn of 1991, more than 80 were produced, of which 63 were in Russia and 21 in Ukraine. In 1995, Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement in which Ukraine sold all figures 95ms to Russia, but the agreement was not implemented.
Russian Air Force Tu-95MS strategic bombers patrolled over the waters of the Aleutian Islands, and U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters were tracked and monitored
The 95MS is a four-round turboprop subsonic bomber that set dozens of world flight records in the 1980s. The aircraft adopts a slender fuselage with a circular section, four high-power NK-12MV turboprop engines are installed in the nacelles under the wings on both sides, with a single power of 14975 horsepower and a thrust of 11.77 kN, driving two AB-60H reversible paddle pitch propellers with a propeller diameter of 5.6 meters. The air-launched cruise missiles on the 95MS are KH-55s, which can carry 10 at a time, of which 6 are mounted on rotary launchers in the belly magazine and 4 are hung on either side of the wing roots. The KH-55 missile is very similar to the American BGM-109 Tomahawk, NATO calls it AS-15 "Kent", the bullet length is 6.04 meters, weighs 1.25 tons, can carry 250 kg of conventional warhead or 100,000 tons of TNT equivalent nuclear warhead, cruising speed Mach 0.8, inertia plus terrain matching guidance, range 3000 dry meters. Calculations proved that the effect of a Tu-95MS formation with cruise missiles was equivalent to the intensity of a Tu-1 22M3 flight regiment bombing.
Figure one 95Ms strategic bomber ready for takeoff. Its four turbopule engines are extremely powerful when they start up.
Due to the large size and low speed of the airframe, the rapid development of early warning equipment in the air and on the ground today is facing great challenges in Figure 195MS. However, correspondingly, the continuous update of ultra-long-range cruise missiles has effectively improved the strike capability outside the defense zone, so that the Tu-95MS still has the value and development space, so it is still the main aircraft of the Russian strategic bomber. In recent years, it has been flying under the eyes and noses of the United States, showing its "bear" wind unabated combat performance. The Russian Air Force plans to equip the Tu-195MS with a new generation of KH-101 (AS-19) air-based strategic and conventional cruise missiles in 2005. Lieutenant General Mi Opaling, commander of the 37th Army, pointed out that equipping tu-95 with high-precision cruise missiles would be one of the solutions to deal with the U.S. national missile defense system, that is, aircraft carrying cruise missiles could also strike important facilities in the enemy's rear without entering the range of anti-ballistic missiles. The head of the Russian strategic bomber declared: "We have a lot of potential. We are ready to fly to the whole world. "Figure 95MS will play a special role.
Figure 1 Three views of the 95MS strategic bomber
The "pirate flag" that is held high
The February 19, 1979 issue of Aviation Week revealed that the Soviet Union was developing a new type of strategic bomber. The U.S. Department of Defense believes that this variable swept-wing bomber has the performance of similar to the B-1B strategic bomber. On December 13, 1981, Aviation Week was the first to publish a photograph of the bomber taken on November 25 of that year on the shutdown of the Ramineskoye Test Center in the Soviet Union, which was temporarily called "Lamin"-P bomber by Western countries, and then renamed "Pirate Flag". Its huge body and the bomb load of tens of tons are enough to make Western countries regard it as a "pirate flag" that people are afraid of. In 1988, the Soviet Union showed the visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Kalucci for the first time the new strategic bomber, officially designated Tu I 160, was also the first time that the aircraft was made public. Because the Figure 160 is structurally very similar to the American B-1 bomber of the same period, it is also known as the "Red B-1".
Figure 160 "Pirate Flag" is a four-round variable swept-wing supersonic strategic bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau on the basis of the M-18 design scheme, which is designed to be able to project nuclear and non-nuclear weapons deep into the enemy, and has the combat capability of all-weather, day and night, and various latitudes and geographical conditions. The prototype first flew in December 1981, and production entered service with the Air Force in May 1987. It was the last generation of the Soviet Union, the latest generation of Russian long-range strategic bombers, and the only bomber in the Russian military that could attack the U.S. mainland without aerial refueling. The 160 was mass-produced at the Kazan Aircraft Plant, and by 1992 a total of 25 were produced, of which only 6 were in Russia and the other 19 were in Ukraine. Later, under the bomber replacement gas debt agreement, Russia exchanged 8 aircraft from Ukraine, the remaining 11 were destroyed in Ukraine, and the last 2 were destroyed in February 2001.
Tu-160 destroyed by Ukraine
In recent years, Russia has resumed production of the Tu-1 160 aircraft in Kazan. In May 2000, a newly produced Tu-1 160 bomber joined the Russian Air Force, bringing fresh blood to the Russian long-range bombing aviation unit that had not been resupplied for a long time. Three more aircraft are currently being produced at the Kazan Aircraft Plant, the first of which was shipped in late 2002 or early 2003, with production funds included in the Russian Defence OrderIng Plan for 2002. In this way, the Russian Air Force will be equipped with 18 Tu-160 strategic bombers.
In response to the new U.S. nuclear policy, Russia decided to modernize its original 14 Tu-160s and equip them with more sophisticated airborne equipment and weapon systems to gain new combat capabilities, not only capable of carrying new KH-101 and KH-555 cruise missiles, but also for launching spacecraft and sending light satellites into Earth orbit. The converted Figure I 160 will be in service until 2030. On April 5, 2002, the first original 160 aircraft flew to Kazan and entered the modification workshop.
The Tu-160 is mounted with Kh-101 air-to-surface cruise missiles
Figure 1 160 has a unique appearance, using a variable swept wing layout, the wing position is low, the fuselage is slender and round, the wing body is integrated, the main structure of the fuselage uses titanium metal, and the variable swept wing can be adjusted between 20 ° and 65 °. Four NK-321 turbofan engines are mounted side-by-side in the lower part of the wing joint and are controlled by a fly-by-wire system. The four crew members, including the front and co-pilots, navigators and weapons operators, were juxtaposed. Although the aircraft is highly computerized, all the data is displayed on the traditional electronic-mechanical indicator and monitor, and there is no horizontal display or liquid crystal display.
The cockpit of the Tu-160 – the electronics are still from the last century
Figure I 160 has no cannon and has two weapons compartments of 12.8 meters long at the front and rear under the belly that can carry nuclear and conventional weapons, including long-range nuclear cruise missiles, short-range attack missiles and free-fall bombs. During medium- and long-range missions, the aircraft can carry up to 12 KH-55MS (AS-15) strategic cruise missiles, with 6 missiles in the front and rear magazines. The KH-55SM is Russia's "Tomahawk", with a range of 3,000 kilometers and a nuclear warhead of 200,000 tons of TNT equivalent. On short-range missions, the aircraft carries a KH-15P (AS-16 "recoil") short-range attack missile with a range of 200 kilometers and can carry a conventional warhead of 250 kilograms or a nuclear warhead. In addition, the aircraft can carry a total of 40 tons of aerial bombs. Figure 1160 can not only operate in high-altitude supersonic conditions, launch cruise missiles with defense capabilities outside the zone, but also attack important targets with subsonic speeds and low altitudes, attack important targets with nuclear bombs or missiles, and also carry out air defense suppression and launch short-range attack missiles, and its overall performance is comparable to that of the B-1B strategic bomber of the US Air Force.
Attach importance to actual combat training
Conducting exercises and training under actual combat conditions is an important way to maintain strategic deterrence against the enemy and improve the combat effectiveness and pilot quality of long-range bombing aviation units; after several years of continuous silence, Russian strategic bombers finally opened the prelude to large-scale military exercises and training in the autumn of 1998. The three major strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force made a collective appearance during the exercise. The exercise was divided into three stages: in the first stage, the long-range aviation units participating in the exercise entered combat readiness; in the second stage, more than 30 tu-22M3, tu-195MS, and tu-160 strategic bombers of six regiments were used to simultaneously carry out air strikes on several enemy airfields under the cover of Su-127 and MiG-129 fighter jets; in the third stage, the tu-12M3, tu-95MS, and tu-160 were dispatched to launch KH-22 and KH-55 cruise missiles against the enemy's strategic, campaign, and tactical targets.
In June 1999, the Russian army's 'Othil-99' exercise, two Tu-160 bombers flew over the Norwegian sea, and two Tu-195MS bombers flew over Iceland, both staying more than 10 hours. In the same year, Russian strategic bombers also completed flights to the east and west coasts of the American continent, causing panic in Western countries. 2000 was even more unusual for Russian long-range bombing aviation, with the 37th Army conducting tactical flight exercises over the Caspian and Black Seas on April 18-21. Figure 160 first appeared over the Black Sea after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In November, five Russian Air Force strategic bombers of the Tu-195MS advanced into the Far East and deployed to Anadyr Air Base near the Bering Strait and Tiksi Air Base in the Lapdev Sea in northern Siberia, resuming a 10-year-long suspension of training in the Arctic. This move by the Russian Air Force has made the United States and Canada look like a great enemy. The F-15 fighters of the United States, the CF-18 fighters of Canada, early warning aircraft, and tankers were urgently transferred to Alaska. Even the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledged that the response was "rare in recent years." ″
From February 13 to 16, 2001, the Russian military held the "Chief Command" strategic exercise, which was designed to train the ability of various services to fight a nuclear war. The exercise changed from the previous practice of russian strategic forces firing cruise missiles at remote areas or sea areas with sparsely populated areas and collecting troops after the first round of strikes against the enemy, and instead aimed at accelerating the deployment of the national missile defense system by the United States and practicing the rapid response capability of relying on the missile defense system to evade the "enemy' important targets after the first strike." During the exercise, the strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force became the most eye-catching stars. The exercise is first performed on a map. After entering the actual combat exercise, Russian strategic bombers attacked from east to west to meet the incoming enemy and the enemy aircraft carriers in the waters near Russia.
To the east, two Tu-22M3s, escorted by two Su-27 fighter jets, took off from bases in Ussurisk and Khabarovsk in the Far East, crossed the Rapillotse Strait between Hokkaido, Japan, and Sakhalin Island, Russia, into the sky over the Pacific Ocean, ready to "wipe out invading enemy aircraft." Figure 1 22M3 was spotted by Japan while flying over the Strait of La Piruze. While claiming that Russia has violated its airspace, Japan immediately sent 19 fighter jets to intercept it. To the west, two Tu-160s took off from Saratov Air Base and entered the skies over the North Sea along the Norwegian coast. Norway claimed that Russian bombers had violated its airspace, and Norwegian Air Force F-16s and Harrier fighter jets rushed into the air in preparation for interception.
In the north, a Tu-95MS, coordinated by an Il-76 air refueling tanker, took off from the mainland, crossed the Arctic, and flew to the airspace adjacent to Canada to attack the 'enemy' target; a Tu-95MS and two Tu-12M3 took off from the central Russian airfield and flew straight to the North Pole, and immediately turned the nose after reaching the designated airspace to launch strategic cruise missiles, campaign and tactical missiles at the range in the southern region of Russia. Analysts pointed out that the exercise showed the United States and other Western countries that Russia's combat strength and modernization level should not be underestimated.
Frequent actual combat exercises and training of the morale of the Russian military also indicate that the Russian strategic bombers have fully recovered their vitality and play an increasingly important role in Russia's nuclear containment strategic forces.
Perform non-nuclear missions
Since modern warfare is mainly manifested as local conflicts and local wars, the era of having strategic bombers on the string, maintaining a high degree of combat at all times, or circling in the airspace near the enemy is over. The successful use of US strategic bombers in local wars in recent years, especially in the war against Afghanistan, has pointed out a way for Russia's future strategic bomber development.
Beginning in 1993, the U.S. military modified strategic bombers to carry conventional weapons on non-nuclear bombing missions. In particular, the US B-1B bomber, according to a series of US-Russian strategic arms reduction treaties, this type of aircraft was forced to unload its nuclear armament and become an ordinary heavy bomber. The B-1B made its debut during Operation Desert Fox in 1998. During the 1999 Yugoslav War, six B-1Bs made 100 combat flights, using new guided bombs to bomb targets from high altitudes, with allegedly high accuracy. After the 9/11 incident, the B-1B accompanied the B-52H and B-2A strategic bombers to Afghanistan. Three bombers, as the main force, dropped 80 percent of the total ammunition, of which the B-1B flew only 5 percent of U.S. fighter bombing missions, but dropped 40 percent of the bombs. It is not difficult to see that it is feasible and imperative to enhance the conventional combat capability of strategic bombers. The Russian Air Force is developing along this path.
In fact, as early as a few years ago, the Russian Air Force saw the development prospects of strategic bombers performing non-nuclear tasks and began to work in this direction. Mi Opalin, commander of the 37th Army of the Russian Air Force, said in 2000 that strategic bombers are one of the pillars of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence force, but they also have the power to use conventional lethal weapons to solve sudden problems. The newly commissioned Figure I 160 in 2000 was modified. In early 2002, the Russian Air Force signed a contract with the Kazan Aircraft Factory to convert 14 Tu-160 bombers, one of whose main objectives was to enhance its non-nuclear strike capability. With a payload of 40 tons, the 160 is no less promising than the United States Air Force's B-1B. The Russian Air Force said it will also carry out similar modifications to the Figure I 95MS and figure I 22M3.
New shipment of the Russian Tu-160m2 strategic bomber
However, because the Russian strategic bomber was designed to carry out nuclear bombing missions at the beginning, its conventional attack capability was obviously insufficient, and the bomber was large in target and easy to be detected and intercepted, Russia had to start with the development of long-range conventional precision-guided cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs launched outside the defense zone. Previously, the Soviet long-range missiles were not well known for their low accuracy, but now they have taken a crucial step towards high-precision strikes.
Figure I 160 bomber taking off. Watching this "big guy" take off, really pinch the sweat for it.
Two new missiles will be equipped with bombers, the KH-101 and the KH-65. The KH-101, developed from the KH-55 as part of Russia's air force program to equip it with intelligent weapons, was first test-launched in October 1998 and launched in 2000 with the newly produced Tu-160 by the Kazan Aircraft Plant. This type of missile is divided into nuclear warhead and conventional warhead type, of which the conventional type is equipped with a high-precision guidance system and an electronic optical automatic path correction system, which can independently select the ballistic trajectory, and the end of the flight is sought by television guidance, which can perform complex maneuvering flight to deceive the enemy's air defense system, with a lateral error of less than 10 meters, a radar reflection cross-sectional area of only 0.01 square meters, and a maximum range of 5,000 kilometers. KH-65, also known as KH-SD, is a short-range tactical version of the KH-101, using the same guidance system as the KH-101, with a range of 300 to 500 kilometers, and also developed the KH-65S anti-ship type, using an active radar seeker. Undoubtedly, these two new missiles will advance the process of developing Russian strategic bombers to both nuclear and non-nuclear missions.
In the future local armed conflicts in which Russia participates in the war, we may be able to see the figure of the strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force.
In November 2015, the Tu-160 first entered actual combat, launching the Kh-101 cruise missile
The Russian KH-101 cruise missile demonstrated excellent technical performance in the Syrian battlefield