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Tupolev Tu-28 / Tu-128 (Fiddler)

1964 COLD WAR

History of Tupolev Tu-28 / Tu-128 (Fiddler)

The Soviet Union had vast territories at the height of the Cold War, and its military needed large, fast, and powerful interceptors to manage its airspace from Western prying eyes. As a result, various brands of aircraft were adopted, including the Tupolev Tu-28 (officially known as the Tu-128), code-named "Fiddler" in NATO nomenclature, manufactured by Soviet-era Tupolev concerns, There has been a second war since the age of the world mainly related to bombers.

The Tu-28 was developed as a high-speed, twin-crew, jet-powered interceptor with a swept-wing design profile and twin afterburner turbojets. The design has a wingspan of 60 feet, a fuselage length of 89 feet, and a height of 23 feet. The long, streamlined fuselage is traditionally central, housing avionics, fuel and a two-seat cockpit. The main wing assemblies are mounted low on the sides of the fuselage, emanating from two crescent-shaped intake ducts mounted on the sides of the fuselage. There is only one vertical rear wing, which is swept back for maximum aerodynamic efficiency while maintaining high-speed control.

There are also two low-mounted spoilers on the rear wing. In keeping with other Soviet aircraft designs of the time, the Tu-28 had a distinct boundary layer "fence" along each main wing unit for high-speed flight. The design of the cockpit is very forward, although it sits behind a pointed cone assembly that wraps the onboard radar assembly.

The landing gear is fully retractable and consists of a pair of four-wheeled main legs below the wings and two-wheeled front legs below the cockpit.

The Tu-28 is powered by two Lyulka AL-series afterburner turbojets with 16,370 pounds of thrust, placed side by side in the rear of the fuselage. This gives the airframe a top speed of 1,150 mph, a service ceiling of nearly 51,200 feet, and a range of up to 1,600 miles.

The rate of climb - an important attribute of any interceptor - is an impressive 25,000 feet per minute. Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 96,340 lbs, while empty weight is 54,000 lbs.

For air deterrence, the Tu-28 is armed with 4 x AA-5 "Ash" air-to-air missiles, mounted via four underwing brackets. There are no internal cannons for close combat, as the aircraft is expected to attack targets from long to medium distances.

Later versions added a combination of radar-guided and infrared-guided missiles. Interestingly, the Tu-28 did not use external drop tanks to increase endurance.

The Tu-28 first flew on March 18, 1961, and production began shortly thereafter. The service was officially launched in 1964, allowing it to exert its given deterrent role for the remainder of the 1960s and into the 1970s.

It wasn't officially recognized by Western observers until its debut at the Tushino Exhibition in 1961, and some misunderstandings of its onboard systems and capabilities soon emerged. Production continued until 1970, with 198 units delivered.

Its main purpose was to intercept the larger, slower, high-flying, nuclear-capable heavy bombers of the West in the event of an all-out war against the Soviet Union. The Tu-28 is expected to take off and hit these aircraft within minutes, and is designed accordingly for speed and good climb characteristics. Aircraft of the 1960s had an active service life until 1990, for which a new generation of Soviet aircraft with better capabilities and weapons support could be used.

The line was largely abandoned by the Mikoyan MiG-31 "Foxhound" interceptor and the excellent Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" air defense/multirole fighter.

An early version of this aircraft was designated "Fiddler-A" by NATO, and the main combat model was designated "Fiddler-B". The Fiddler-B aircraft are known in the West as the Tu-28P/Tu-128P, while the Tu-128UT is a special trainer variant with the addition of a third crew member in the nose assembly and a replacement radar unit. Four of the existing airframes were reportedly converted for training, while ten became new builds. The Tu-128M designation marks a 1979 modernization of the existing inventory, providing improved low-altitude capabilities through a new air search radar system and new missiles.

The T-28A, Tu-28-80, Tu-28-100, Tu-138 and Tu-148 were all related developments of the T-28/T-128, but all were cancelled.

The Tu-28/T-128 represents the largest and heaviest interceptor ever used by the Air Force. The Tu-28 only served in the Soviet Union and was never exported to supporting customers or satellite countries. It was in service with the Soviet air defense detachment. All are now retired.