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Tupolev Tu-123 (Yastreb) / (DBR-1)

1964 COLD WAR DRONE TECHNOLOGY

History of Tupolev Tu-123 (Jasteb) / (DBR-1)

War planners have been considering the prospect of unmanned aerial vehicles in warfare since Austria launched bomb-filled balloons at targets in Venice in 1849. The field developed in the early to mid-20th century, when drones were developed to aid in shooting and missile training.

Today, they are deadly munitions delivery systems capable of precision strikes, some of which can last for days.

During the Cold War (1947-1991), the Soviet Union and the United States had been fighting for global military supremacy. This includes the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, where both parties have invested heavily in the development of advanced high-speed unmanned reconnaissance systems. The Soviet Union's Tupolev Design Bureau produced a branch of the discontinued nuclear-capable supersonic cruise missile Tu-121, called "Tu-123".

The design is based on the Tumansky R-15 family of afterburning turbojets, which were also used to power the high-speed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 "Foxbat" interceptors (arranged in pairs) (detailed elsewhere on this site. ). The engine proved to be an excellent propulsion system that could serve as the basis for the entire rocket-like aerodynamic structure, so the basic design of the Tu-123 consisted of a nose cone, front canards, and rear wing elements adapted to the roughly cylindrical shape. An air intake was added along the aircraft's belly line to suck in the single-engine unit, which ejected through a large port in the aircraft's tail.

The result was the unmanned disposable Tu-123 "Yastreb" (or "Falcon"), which was developed under the code name "DBR-1". The first flight was recorded in 1960, and preliminary tests were completed by the end of 1961. Formal testing continued until 1963, followed by official commissioning in May 1964.

The 64th factory in Voronezh is responsible for the serial production of drones, with a total of 52 aircraft.

Internally, the reconnaissance aircraft Tu-123 carried signals intelligence (SIGINT) and camera equipment to monitor Allied forces in Europe. The drone can be powered by the R-15 engine itself, but rely on JATO (Jet Assisted Takeoff) to assist in takeoff.

The air unit itself did not recover as the payload was jettisoned (and dropped with a deployable parachute) and the entire airframe was lost in the mission.

When completed, the Tu-123 will have a length of 27.8 meters, a wingspan of 8.4 meters and a height of 4.7 meters. With an empty weight of 11,450kg and a maximum takeoff weight of 35,610kg, the Tumansky R-15 engine produces 22,045 pounds of thrust - propelling the aircraft to a speed of 1,675 mph and 2,000 miles.

It has a service ceiling of nearly 75,000 feet.

Ultimately, the Tu-123 as a one-off aircraft product proved economically unviable in long-term service, so this inevitably limited production (from 1964 to 1972) and service only lasted until 1979. There were attempts to use a reusable version Tu-139 "Yastreb 2", but this design was not adopted.

Instead, the role of the high-flying, high-speed Tu-123 was eventually replaced by a reconnaissance version of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25. This ended the days of flying the Tu-123 drone.