Tupolev Tu-22M2,

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caid’s suggestion #161

I want to suggest what could be the best Russian bomber family (for the gameplay) the Tu-22M2

The Tu-22M2 is the first production of the Tu-22M family, nicknamed Backfire by NATO. the plane is a variable sweep-wing supersonic long-range bomber capable to be used as strategic bomber and naval strict bomber. design in the 60s by Tupolev as a replacement for the Tu-22 as a heavy bomber. the Tu-22 suffered from many design problems and who was a fixed sweep-wing supersonic bomber, the Tu-22M was trying to improve the flight performance and pilot"'s visibility. the TU-22M was a direct answer to the XB-70 and a competitor to the Sukoi T-4. The Tu-22M was simpler than the Sukoi’s design and much cheaper to produce. the Tu-22 entering services in 1962 despite the deficiency the plane shown almost made the Tu-22M be canceled. still, in 1967, the design was approved and a prototype was built. the plane flowed for the first time in 1969 (haha, 69…) while the Sukoi T-4 flowed in 1972. with the performance of the Sukoi T-4 confirmed, it was clear that the Tu-22M was a more interesting option and was accepted to service in 1972 which led to the cancellation of the Sukoi T-4.
the Tu-22M was simple. based on the Tu-22 it introduced the sweep-wing configuration to improve the performance in low speed and notably during take-off. the Tu-22M needed a much shorter runway to take off than the Tu-22. it also included serial features from the Tu-98 which was an abandoned project. the Tu-22M had the same weaponry as the Tu-22 but with the capacity to also use air-to-surface missiles. most of the deficiency of the Tu-22 was fixed on the Tu-22M which made it a pretty good successor and led to a halt in the production of the Tu-22. while the name suggests the Tu-22M is a variant of the Tu-22, this is a deception that was probably done on purpose. while the plane is indeed based on the Tu-22, it is a completely new plane and can’t be considered part of the same family. the name was probably intentional to misinform the foreign intelligence.

a total of nearly 500 Ty-22M were built from 1969 to 1993. the Tu-22M1 was a pre-production version, I will focus this suggestion on the Tu-22M2 which was the first major production version.
the difference has been in the refinement of the design. the Tu-22M2 was produced in 1972 which is the year of the introduction of the plane into service. the wings were made longer than the M1 version and redesigned. the crew changed from 3 to 4 men. It had a powerful NK-22 engine and review undercarriage. 211 planes of this specific version were built from 1972 to 1983.

Armament

on the weaponry, the plane is lacking offensive armament. it is a bomber and has no real need for a forward-facing cannon, but it would still have been a nice feature. it does have a defensive argument with the R-23 23 mm cannon in the tail turret. this is a rather welcome but not very useful feature as in the BR it should fall, dogfighting against a clumsy bomber will not be common. most plane will just lock and fire a missiles without chasing you. the turret is mainly used as a counter measure against threats.
the main armament of the Tu-22M2 is the bombload which is both internally and externally carried.

the aircraft can carry a wide selection of dump bombs and missiles which can be effective for the game. while in reality some of those missiles are long-range cruise missiles intended to carry notably a nuclear warhead, there are also the same missiles with a conventional warhead. those might be interesting and balanced to have ingame as the only feature that would be exceptional would be the capacity to launch them as soon the player spawn. but they are not seeking missiles which means the player still needs to aim them.

the plane can carry up to 24,000 kg of bombs and missiles, internally and externally. the main limitation is mostly the space more than the weight.

usually ordinance might vary it is limited to a total of this but a mix of ordinances might be possible

  • 69x FAB-250 bomb (227kg each for 15,663 kg total)
  • 18x FAB-500 bomb (508 kg each for 9,144 kg total)
  • 8x FAB-1500 bomb (1575 kg each for 12.600 kg)
  • 2x FAB-3000 bomb (2,983 kg each for 5,966 kg)
  • 1x FAB-9000 bomb (assumedly but that is because the Tu-22 could carry it) ( 9,407 kg)
  • 10x Kh-15 cruise missiles (1,200 kg each for 12,000 kg)
  • 4x Kh-47M cruise missiles (4,300 kg each for 17,200 kg)
  • 3x Kh-22 cruise missiles (5,820 kg each for 17,460 kg)

as you can see, none of the maximal load out can reach the maximal play load of the aircraft. that is because some armament can’t be carried externally and others can’t be carried internally. Sadly there is no guided bomb. it is possible to carry incendiary bombs I suppose and I do not exclude if I miss some armament.

Flight Performance
the Tu-22M2 is powered by two powerful DTRDF NK-22 with 215 kN thrust each. those engines are enough to give the plane a speed of 1,800 km/h without rockets or 1,660 km/h with externally mounted rockets. the plane has a combat range of 2,200 km and a practical ceiling of 12.600 m. The plane is huge and heavy with a maximal load of 126,000 kg when fully armed. this plagued the aircraft’s performance which would feel a bit clumsy. the climbing rate of 15 m/sec will be rather slow which makes it essential for the player to spawn already high.

Avionic
the Tu-22M2 is equipped with the Leninets PN-A attack radar which allows for bombing and navigation. this radar is hosted in the nose just below the front part. there is also a TV-based backup optical bombsight in a fairing under the cockpit. the aircraft has a Sirena-3 radar warning receiver with a fairing at the top of the tailfin and radio-frequency jammers, along with the countermeasures-oriented tail turret. the rear turret can be used to destroy incoming missiles aimed by an Argon-2 radar fire-control system and a closed-circuit TV system. The cannons were used as part of the defensive countermeasures system, firing flare shells to distract heat-seeking missiles and chaff shells to blind radar-guided missiles.


Sources

6 Likes
2

Similar enough to the F-111A that it would be fine to add as long as the gun CMs work.

1 Like
3

The Su-24 is the F-111 derrivative the Tu-22 is a huge airframe double the length of an F-111

2 Likes
4

Bomb load is close enough though so it wouldn’t cause balance issues in the way that the B-1B/TU-160 would.

2 Likes
5

It depends what Gaijin give it, always designed to be a missile carrier.

1 Like
6

Seeing as I said yes/+1 to the B-1B suggestion, it’d only be right to say the same for this
So yes, +1 from me!

1 Like
7

Sure a +1 from me, would be a nice addition to have in the Bomber line!

2 Likes