Design and development Tupolev Tu-142

1 design , development

1.1 designs
1.2 improved variants
1.3 technological upgrades

design , development
early designs

the tu-142m powered 4 11,033 kw (14,795 shp) kuznetsov nk-12mv turboprops, drive huge contra-rotating av-60n propellers.

in late 1950s navy developed ugm-27 polaris, submarine-launched ballistic missile (slbm) range of more of 1,800 kilometres (1,000 nm). navy test-fired rocket boosters perfect design, culminating in first underwater launch of ballistic missile uss george washington on 20 july 1960. polaris became operational on 15 november year, when george washington left charleston, south carolina, complement of nuclear-armed polaris missiles.

the soviet government consequently ordered tupolev , other aircraft design bureaus study possible dedicated anti-submarine warfare (asw) designs. tupolev designed tu-95plo (protivolodochnaya oborona, or asw), development of tu-95 equipped sonobuoys, anti-submarine mines , torpedoes. carry 9,000 kg (19,841 lb) payload maximum loiter time of 10.5 hours. design dropped, however, because lacked powerful radar, thermal imaging (infrared) system , magnetic anomaly detector (mad). on 28 february 1963, council of ministers (the highest executive , administrative body of soviet union) issued directive tupolev requiring bureau develop long-range asw aircraft.

the resultant design named tu-142 , had features in common tu-95rt. ventral , dorsal gun turrets removed, large dielectric radome housing uspeh radar system, replaced thermal imaging system located in smaller fairing. left tail turret twin 23-mm am-23 cannons, along electronic countermeasures, defensive armament. aircraft s search-and-targeting system featured berkut (golden eagle) 360° radar. complex navigation system integrated weapons targeting system. structural differences included airfoil change wing, expanding area 295 m (3,172 ft). area of elevators increased 14%, , improved hydraulic actuators fitted. metal fuel tanks replaced rubber bladders. allow tu-142 operate semi-prepared runways, tu-95 s four-wheel main undercarriage bogies replaced six-wheel units; main undercarriage fairings modified.

the first tu-142 (construction number 4200) built @ kuibyshev aviation plant in samara. performed first flight on 18 june 1968, test pilot i. k. vedernikov @ controls, taking off zhukovsky airfield southeast of moscow. testing indicated fuselage needed lengthened @ least 1.5 m (4.9 ft) accommodate new combat equipment. therefore, second prototype (c/n 4201) joined flight-test programme on 3 september 1.7-metre (5.6 ft) front fuselage stretch, modification found on subsequent tu-142s. third , final development tu-142 entered flight test on 31 october, complete full equipment suite. in may 1970, soviet naval aviation (av-mf) – air arm of soviet navy – began receiving production tu-142s operational trials.

improved variants

during operations, tu-142 revealed several shortcomings. aircraft s rough-field capability found of limited use, 2 six-wheel bogies used on first 12 of 36 aircraft replaced four-wheel reinforced bogies tu-114 airliner; consequently, wheel-wells in engine nacelle made slimmer. these changes, along deletion of thermal imaging system , parts of electronic countermeasure (ecm) equipment, reduced empty weight 4,000 kg (8,818 lb). modified aircraft introduced crew rest area long-duration missions, , assigned codename ( bear f mod 1); 1968 1972 kuibyshev plant produced total of 18 tu-142s.

in 1970s, production of tu-142s switched taganrog machinery plant near black sea. has been speculated change idle plant give employment workers there. move required many improvements plant , surrounding area, including establishment of new assembly shops, installation of new machinery , tooling, re-training of workforce, , building of new airfield. preparation took place until 1975, when production of first tu-142 began. tu-142s built taganrog incorporated changes found on last of kuibyshev aircraft. differences included 30-centimetre (12 in) stretch front fuselage , redesigned cockpit. additional changes included new two-axle main undercarriage bogies. version given factory designation tu-142m, not adopted soviet navy; nato codenamed bear-f mod 2.

a tu-142mk (with aft-facing fin-top fairing , smooth nose contour) being escorted navy lockheed p-3 vp-45 (march 1986)

as 1970s progressed, silencing technology in submarines rendered acoustic-band sonobuoys , trigger devices ineffective. during 1961 , 1962, soviet union conducted research , development explosive sound system (ess) – used locate deep-diving submarines – under name udar (blow). in 1965, work had started on sonobuoy systems using ess integrated berkut radar. programme postponed when 1 of aircraft intended carry it, ilyushin il-38, found incompatible. developments instead resulted in udar-75, featured in new search , targeting system (sts) of taganrog-built tu-142ms.

a new target acquisition system dubbed korshun-k, cornerstone of korshun (kite) radar, installed on subsequent tu-142s. system used detecting surfaced , submerged submarines, communicating other asw aircraft , ground bases, , performing navigational , tactical tasks. first 3 tu-142ms first aircraft equipped system, , redesignated tu-142mk ( bear f mod. 3). first tu-142 feature mad, mms-106 ladoga system being mounted in aft-facing fairing atop vertical stabiliser. first of 3 tu-142mks underwent stage of trials programme made first flight on 4 november 1975; despite dismal performance figures, production go-ahead given. stage b, conducted during april–october 1978, found aircraft s avionics extremely unreliable; stage a, these problems apparently ignored when directive issued on 19 november 1980 cleared tu-142mk operational service.

technological upgrades

a tu-142mr in-flight

even tu-142mk entered service, korshun-k sts becoming obsolete. work began on yet improved tu-142, resulting in tu-142mz ( bear f mod. 4) korshun-kn-n sts. consisted of nashatyr-nefrit (ammonia/jade) asw avionics, included zarechye sonar system. rgb-1a , rgb-2 buoys of berkut, tu-142mz compatible rgb-16 , rgb-26 buoys. when working asw avionics, these buoys provided 50% greater coverage. kuznetsov nk-12mv replaced more-powerful nk-12mp engines, , first time, tu-142 had independent engine-starting capability addition of ta-12 auxiliary power unit. variant distinguished earlier bear fs chin fairings housing several antennas.

the flight test programme started in 1985 maiden flight of converted tu-142m fitted advanced avionics; state acceptance trials began within 2 years. test results proved excellent, aircraft tracked nuclear-powered submarines of northern , pacific fleets. aircraft became operational russian naval aviation (av-mp) in 1993. last tu-142mz rolled off taganrog production line following year, bringing end 26-year production run during 100 tu-142s produced.

a communications variant designated tu-142mr ( bear j ) last production version of tu-142. tasked long-range communications duties soviet ballistic missile submarines, role similar of boeing e-6 mercury. tu-142mr differed asw tu-142s in having less-sophisticated avionics, had long trailing wire radio aerial relay messages submerged soviet submarines in times of nuclear war. amongst many distinctive features of tu-142mr allows communicate satellites, airborne , ground-based command posts, , submarines. aircraft replaced ilyushin il-80 in airborne command , control role. tu-142s operated 76th naval aviation regiment kipelovo. other developments of tu-142 include one-off tu-142mrt maritime reconnaissance variant, , unbuilt tu-142ms missile-carrying variant.