The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO: Blinder) is a Soviet twin-engine supersonic bomber with its two Dobrynin engines mounted on the rear fuselage on either side of the fin. The first prototype flew on 21 June 1958, the type entered service in 1962, and 311 were built by 1969 in bomber, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, missile carrier and trainer versions. Developed by Tupolev.
The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO: Blinder) is a Soviet twin-engine supersonic bomber with its two Dobrynin engines mounted on the rear fuselage on either side of the fin. Developed by Tupolev.
See Specifications for full detail.
The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO: Blinder) is a Soviet twin-engine supersonic bomber with its two Dobrynin engines mounted on the rear fuselage on either side of the fin. The first prototype, Samolyot 105, flew on 21 June 1958, the type entered service in 1962 and 311 were built by 1969. [1]
It fell short of its expected speed and range, and the Tu-22M that replaced it was a separate variable-geometry design. Libya and Iraq received export aircraft and used them against Chad, Tanzania and Iran, and the Soviet Union used the family in combat only in Afghanistan in 1988. [1]
Yeger selected Samolyot 105 in 1954, and both the Tupolev and Myasishchev designs were approved for prototype production that year. The first prototype 105 was shipped to Zhukovsky in August 1957 and first flew on 21 June 1958, flown by Yuri Alasheev. The 105A crashed about three months after its first flight, on its seventh test flight, and two crew were killed. [1][2]
The 105A, with an area-ruled fuselage and new landing gear, first flew on 7 September 1959, and the first serial Tu-22B flew on 22 September 1960. The type was shown at the Tushino Aviation Day parade on 9 July 1961 with a flypast of 10 aircraft and entered service in 1962. [1]
The two Dobrynin turbojets were moved from the wing roots to the rear fuselage on either side of the vertical stabiliser. Wind-tunnel work at LII showed a pitch-up tendency near Mach 1, and the move also reduced drag and inlet losses. The engines were first VD-7M units of 159 kN and later RD-7M2 units of 162 kN. [1]
The crew of three sat with the pilot forward and slightly left, the weapons officer behind, and the navigator below within the fuselage. The weapons officer and navigator used downward-firing ejector seats and entered by lowering their seats on rails and being cranked up into the cockpit. A tail turret carried one 23 mm R-23 gun aimed with a PRS-3A radar. [1]
Landing speed was 100 km/h higher than on earlier bombers, with touchdown at 320 to 330 km/h, and the aircraft tended to pitch up and strike its tail on landing until electronic stabilisation aids fixed this. Forward visibility was poor, and new pilots were barred from flying it in crosswinds above a fresh breeze. Aerodynamic heating at supersonic speed distorted control rods and the wing design allowed aileron reversal at high speed, which could leave the aircraft almost uncontrollable. [1][2]
The Tu-22 was maintenance-intensive with widespread unserviceability, and transition was hard enough that many Tu-16 pilots could not finish training. The cockpit drew criticism, because a high right-hand panel blocked the view of the runway in crosswinds. The early downward-firing ejection seats needed about 230 to 245 m of height in level flight, which ruled them out on take-off and landing, and the three crew sat in separate compartments and could not tell whether the others had ejected. About 70 aircraft were lost, roughly one in five built, although Russian sources differ on whether that count runs to 1975 or 1992, and crews sometimes refused to fly after fatal crashes. The load limit of +2 g gave it the manoeuvre envelope of an airliner, and crews called it the Shilo, meaning awl. [1][2]
Production totalled 311 Tu-22s of all variants and ended in 1969: 15 bombers, about 127 reconnaissance aircraft, 47 electronic warfare aircraft, 76 missile carriers and 46 trainers. [1]
The Tu-22K carried the Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) missile and was introduced in 1965, entering service in December 1968, and the export Tu-22A went to Iraq and Libya. The Tu-22M was a separate variable-geometry design that took the Tu-22 name largely for political reasons. [1]
Libya flew over 1,000 troops into Uganda on 9 March 1979 to prop up Idi Amin, about 4,500 in all, and about 200 Libyans died at the Battle of Lukaya on 10 and 11 March. Gaddafi followed an ultimatum with a single Tu-22 sent against a fuel depot at Mwanza, Tanzania, on 29 March 1979, ordered to intimidate President Nyerere. The bomber missed and hit a game sanctuary on Saa Nane Island, and Tanzanian jets answered by attacking fuel depots at Kampala, Jinja and Tororo. [3][2] Against Chad from 1980, a raid on Omdurman in September 1981 killed three civilians, a Tu-22B made a low-level attack on N'Djamena airport on 17 February 1986 and bombed the runway, and Tu-22s were shot down at Aouzou on 8 August 1987 by captured SA-6 missiles and on 7 September 1987 by a French Hawk battery. [1]
Iraq used the Tu-22 against Iran from the first day of the war in 1980, when one attacked a fuel depot at Mehrabad. On 19 March 1988 Iraqi aircraft sank one supertanker and damaged another near Kharg Island, and two were shot down in a later raid that day. Iraq lost seven Tu-22s in the war, and the survivors were destroyed in the 1991 Gulf War. The Iraqi raids included the War of the Cities from 1985 to 1988. In Afghanistan in 1988, Tu-22PD electronic warfare aircraft flew escort jamming during the Soviet withdrawal. [1][2]
154 Tu-22s remained at the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and cutting of aircraft at Engels was reported from 1993. In August 1994 the last aircraft of two regiments left Belarus for scrapping at Engels, and Ukraine retired its last Tu-22s in 1998. Libya's last recorded flight was on 7 September 1992 and the aircraft were retired in the early 2000s through lack of spare parts. [1]
Three Tu-22Bs survive in Russian museums, a Tu-22KD is at the Poltava Museum of Long-Range and Strategic Aviation, and seven Libyan Tu-22s were visible at Al Jufra Air Base. [1]
The Tupolev Tu-22 has a top speed of 815 kn (938 mph / 1,510 km/h).
A total of 311 were built.
No, the Tupolev Tu-22 has been retired. It retired in 2000s.
The Tupolev Tu-22 first flew on June 21st 1958.
The Tupolev Tu-22 has a range of 3,045 mi (4,900 km).
Preserved Tu-22s listed in the source checked.
The Tu-22 is retired, and the sources checked say none is believed to be in use. It will not appear on Flightradar24.
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | 815 kn (938 mph / 1,510 km/h) |
|---|---|
| RangeRange — How far an aircraft can fly without refuelling. Quoted figures vary with payload, speed and reserves - see also ferry range and combat radius. Glossary → | 3,045 mi |
| Service CeilingService Ceiling — The highest altitude at which an aircraft can still climb at a useful rate (typically 100 ft/min). Above it, the air is too thin to keep climbing meaningfully. Glossary → | 43,600 ft |
| Airframe & Weight | |
| Wingspan | 76 ft 0 in |
| Length | 136 ft 6 in |
| Height | 33 ft 3 in |
| WeightMTOW — Maximum Take-Off Weight - the heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its take-off run, including fuel, crew, payload and the aircraft itself. Glossary → | empty: not published; MTOW: 202,825 lb; gross: 187,393 lb |
| Power & Payload | |
| Engines | 2 x Dobrynin RD-7M-2 afterburning turbojets, 24,300 lbf (107.9 kN) dry and 36,400 lbf (161.9 kN) with afterburner each |
| ArmamentArmament — The weapons an aircraft can carry: guns, missiles, bombs and rockets, whether mounted internally, on wing hardpoints, or in bomb bays. Glossary → | 1 x 23 mm R-23 cannon in a tail turret aimed by a PRS-3A radar; bomb bay for up to 24 FAB-500 bombs, one FAB-9000 (9,000 kg) or nuclear weapons, a capacity of 12,000 kg; one Kh-22 missile on the Tu-22K |
| Crew | 3 (pilot, weapons officer, navigator) |
| CapacityPayload — Everything an aircraft is carrying that isn't the aircraft or its fuel: passengers, cargo, or weapons. Payload and fuel usually trade off against each other. Glossary → | Up to 12,000 kg (26,500 lb) of bombs |
| Program & Service | |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| Origin | Russia |
| First Flight | June 21st 1958 |
| Service Entry | 1962 |
| Retired | 2000s |
| Number Built | 311 |
| Unit Cost | Not publicly disclosed - no flyaway price for the Tu-22 has been published |
7 notable events involving the Tu-22 Blinder, 1959 to 1988. 5 deaths are recorded across the 2 of these with a figure listed. Curated rather than exhaustive.
The area-ruled 105A prototype crashed about three months after its first flight, on its seventh test flight, and two crew were killed.
One Libyan Tu-22 was sent against a fuel depot at Mwanza, Tanzania, in support of Uganda. It missed and hit a game sanctuary on Saa Nane Island.
Iran claimed three Iraqi Tu-22s shot down in October 1980, early in the Iran-Iraq War. The first Iraqi attack had hit a fuel depot at Mehrabad on the first day of the war.
A Libyan Tu-22 raid on Omdurman in Sudan in September 1981 killed three civilians and injured 20.
A Libyan Tu-22B was shot down at Aouzou by captured SA-6 missiles during the war with Chad.
A French Hawk battery shot down a Libyan Tu-22, killing its East German crew.
Iraqi Tu-22s sank one supertanker and damaged another near Kharg Island. Two were shot down in a later raid that day.
| Tu-22B / Tu-22A (Blinder-A) | The free-fall bomber, of which only 15 were built, mostly used for training or test work. The export Tu-22A, sometimes called Tu-22B in documents, went to Iraq and Libya, with 10 delivered to Iraq and 14 to Libya. The type could carry up to 24 FAB-500 bombs or one FAB-9000 in its bay. |
| Tu-22R (Blinder-C) | The reconnaissance version, which kept its bombing capability. The R-series family comprised the R, the RD with refuelling, the RK with Kub ELINT equipment, the RDK combining the two, and the RDM, an upgraded version of the early 1980s. About 127 reconnaissance aircraft were built, the largest group of Tu-22s. |
| Tu-22K (Blinder-B) | The missile carrier, armed with the Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen), introduced in 1965 and in service from December 1968. The K, KD, KP and KPD versions together account for 76 aircraft built. The KP and KPD carried the Kh-22P anti-radiation missile and were used for electronic warfare and bombing. |
| Tu-22P / PD (Blinder-E) | The electronic warfare version, with the PD adding refuelling, and 47 built in total. Their job was to jam hostile radars. In 1988 Tu-22PDs covered the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan by jamming radars and protecting Tu-22M3 bombers in the only Soviet combat use of the Tu-22 family. |
| Tu-22U / UD (Blinder-D) | The trainer, with 46 built across the U and UD versions. Libya received two Tu-22UDs and Iraq two Tu-22Us. Pilot transition was difficult, because many Tu-16 pilots could not complete training and pilots were later drawn from Su-17 units instead. The Soviet Union and the two export customers all flew the trainer alongside their operational aircraft. |
| Tu-22M | A separate variable-geometry design that Tupolev named Tu-22 largely for political reasons, and which replaced the Tu-22 in Soviet service. It had a different wing, new engines and a four-person crew. The Tu-22M is covered in its own entry in this database, and 497 were built, against 311 Tu-22s. |
No photos added yet for this aircraft.
Preserved Tu-22s listed in the source checked. Serial numbers are not given. Seven Libyan Tu-22s were also reported visible at Al Jufra Air Base, which is a base and not a museum.
No newly associated news articles since this aircraft was added to PlanesDB. When new news articles are published, they will be automatically added and tracked here.
Numbered as cited in the Overview article. Click a reference to see where it's used.
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