The Tu-22 bomber is a Soviet/Russian supersonic strategic bomber and the first supersonic bomber to be deployed by the Soviet Union.

The Tu-22 bomber was originally designed to replace the then Tu-16, break through the air defense net and air interception with supersonic flight performance, drop nuclear weapons on strategic targets in Europe, and carry two RD-7 turbojet engines above the tail to provide power so that it can fly at Mach 1.5. It can carry 9 tons of various types of ammunition or one Kh-22 cruise missile, and is designed to attack enemy strategic targets in depth with regiment-level flight formations to make up for the lack of attack performance of Tu-16 bombers.

Developed by the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau, the Tu-22 bomber made its first successful flight on September 7, 1959, and officially joined the Soviet Air Force in 1962, with a total production of more than 300 aircraft and exported to Libya and Iraq. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the last Tu-22 bomber was decommissioned from the Ukrainian Air Force in 1998.

Development background

In the 1950s, faced with the United States strategic air force, the Soviet Union felt a great threat, they urgently felt the importance of building a strategic air force. Due to the high technical content and strategic requirements of the service, often before one type of aircraft entered service, the development of the next type of aircraft to replace it began.

Tu-22 bomber as the first supersonic bomber of the Soviet Union, the performance is not very reliable, the range is not satisfactory, in theory can carry out supersonic penetration, but after the aircraft is filled with fuel and missiles, it can not carry out supersonic flight, even if it reaches the speed of Mach 1.5 near the target, it can not effectively avoid the interception of NATO aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles. Therefore, the Soviet Army was not satisfied with the bomber, only a small number of equipment, and tasked the design bureau to develop the next generation of supersonic bombers to replace the Tu-16 and Tu-22

1.Extension bar
2.Open the magazine
3.Drop a bomb
4.Self-defence machine gun
6.Turn on landing lights
7.Open parachute

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