Armed Forces of the World
SovietAir Forces
Part 3
Myasishchev M-4'Bisons', '1 15 Tupolev Tu-142 tional agreements), and is expected to continue at
Of the three major elements comprsing 'Bears', 315 Tu-.1 6 'Badgers', 140 Tu-22 'Blinders' this tempo untll the end of the 19BOs. Remarkably,
a r force (Voyenno-Vozdushnyye S lv, or and 1 40 fu-22M 'Backfires'. manufacture is also under way (at Taganrog) of the
appears recently to have suffered a demot Most capable of these is the 'Backfire', whrch can Tu-95, some 20 years after main production was
:trategic bomber force r.e Da 'nVava cover the whole of North America when operating completed. The new variant, which entered servlce
-ong-Range Av at on \',,s a ao-r:ld subsonically at high level f rom bases in the Sovret late in '1 984, is the 'Bear-H' dedicated launcher f or
-ght until the reorga- zz-.:- '-' '?3' Arct c with the aid of rnflightrefuelling. On shorter the AS-X-15.
:.;sets were appare-- ' ..^'- .=. -' a'ss ons against targets in Europe and Asla, it can Re-working of earller 'Bears' rs also in hand tc
-rCer ultimate comrra-r :- -. ::. :. -se ts supersonic dash capabilitiesto good effect. A produce the 'Bear-G' carrier for AS-4'Kitchen' m s-
.- r r ario.rs DA compo ..'r33porl load of up to 12000 kg (26,455 lb) may be siles. The su bjects for this prograrn me are the 'Bea r-
' .'e Air Armres wh ch :-: . .= -- - .-:, :a" ed by the 'Backfire' (some stores on external B' and 'Bear-C', which have been armed with AS-3
, SSR's five continenia --=. ':. ,' ' '::<s be ow the air intake trunks) and in addition to 'Kangaroo' cruise missiles since the early 1960s. t
. -.. They n-ay lrus . - ''e: 'al nuclear weapons, this includes an AS 4 therefore seerns that the giant, swept-wing turbo
- ,-
-:rbv units of Fronta -. , (::ren' cruise missile semi-recessed in the belly. prop will remain as a useful component of the Sov et
: nmand wrthin a s no : - -: .-: , -:er- oevelopment is the AS-X-1 5, a far more cap front-line inventory for many more years to come
, ''ordirg to the de'ra' .- ' , -:: r ssr e which will take its place on the'Back- The 'Badger', though dating back to a 1952 pro-
;trat've of th s freec ' -= :s rn;ell as the 'Bear' and forthcoming 'Black- totype, is an equally valuable asset to DA for theatre
'o'Trpolev-l-6I:-' .1:. the near future.
,,..,,r{f 11 attack (that rs to say, medium-range nuclear strike c'
-" bombing of A'g-" . -
--- 5 crurse mrssile s believed to have a
AS-X-'1 a non-strategic nature). ln rts 'Badger-G' form it car-
le new chain of cor -- . - : '- ' , '.-2= t'3000 km (1,865 miles) and, as such, wrll ries two 45-6 'Kingfrsh' cruise missile or a pair c'
cse by the ICBM ic':: =. ::-- :erab y mprove the Soviet potential for low- shorter-range AS-5 'Kelts' for the tactical role, wh j s:
-: ear deterrence Hcr',:. :.: :-d siand-off attack in both theatre and inter- specialrzed ECM/jamming variants are ava lab e t:
:rance ground Jaunc.e: =ll'.' - :, -: ^:-iar operations. lt is expected to be followed accompany other bombers. The latest vafant, th3
-.
of the air 'o'ce, rl. - : : =
-
:. ,.-ar weapons having an even greater range 'Badger-K', is assigned to electronic intel igenc:
.-l'taryarrr'o'lhsr-.. . = -: .'. in tne hrgh accuracyachieved in US counter- gathering
--ee chestovo Nazn"c-t .: l\ tire use of terrarn-comparison guidance. AS-4 Kitchens a re addltionally carried by the Tu-2 2
:,-:es, or RVSN). Operatec:. :: :: : -:.ge ls a useful asset, but not as essential 'Blinder-B' which, with the'Badger', constitutes tr:
RVSN has 1,398 sio a--,-: .: .-= ,SSl as it is to the USA: 55 American cities
-
-:<et Armies, including Bi 8
. and hardened since 1972 -- :- :' lre 1OOjathom rne ln the Atlantic and Aremarkable aircraft by anyone's standards, the
i:spite this impress ve arn-:- :.- ' : lceans, whereas the USSR has only s x Tupolev Tu- 142 still lumbers around the world's
oceans for hours at a time, collecting data from
srbmarine-launched m ss -.s , :: :-r 2 2 m llion people n the same exposed ground defences, naval exercises and anything it
rs for the bombers o'lre I - can fly near.The'Bear-D'is the most common
-sentrates on carriage of cr- s= ).,..' '= oroduction continues at an alleged rate version, and is intercepted frequently by RAF
raval air forces, the USSR ^a: ,' :: z':'z:I per year (ln contravention of tnterna- fighters over thelVorfh Sea.
: .:::i:::::::: _!i€:i::
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Armed Forces of the World Soviet Air Forces
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DA's medium-range element. The'Blinder' was the Having dealt with the might of the DA, lt may 4600 km (2,860 miles) or up to 200 paratroops. lts
USSR's first operational supersonic bomber. and is appear to be an anti-climax to consider the equip- internal volume is sufficient for .the largest main
now assigned by the DA entirely to cruise-missile ment of the Voyenno-Transportnaya Aviatsiya battle tanks and all the elements of an SS-20 mobile
carrying, with the exception of a few reconnaiss- (Transport Aviation, or WA). But thls is not so. for intermediate-range missile system.
ance models. this component of the V-VS is a vital element in Remembering the role played by USAF heavy
Apart from 170 aircraft (including 40 'Backfires') Soviet defensive and offensive strategy, as evi- transporters in the seizure of Grenada and their use
based in the Far East Theatre of Military Operations, denced by the massive airlift of troops and their in reinforcement exercises to Europe and the Mid-
the DA's assets are concentrated in the western equipment into Afghanistan during December 1 979. dle East, it is not dlfficult to deduce that the Soviet
sections of the USSR. lt should be noted that in The WA operates some 600 four-engine aircraft Union is seeking a similar ability io act rapidly on a
addition to the above, 530 tankers, electronic war- and many more smaller types, but has call on global scale. With the service entry in a few years'
fare and reconnaissance aircraft are operated by the another 1,400 medium and heavy aircraft of the time of the 'Blackjack' intercontinental bomber and
DA, mostly as conversions of the older bombers. airline, Aeroflot. Modernization of the force is main- 'Condor' carry-all strategic transport, the USSR will
Looking to the future, the DA will be considerably tained from annual productio.n of over 300 transport have drawn parallel to Western capability in a further
revitalized from 1987 when the Tupolev bomber aircraft in all categories, of which 75 go to WA. two areas.
known to NATO as 'Blackjack' attains operational Forming the backbone of Transport Aviation is the
status. As the Soviet Union's first truly intercon- Antonov An-12 'Cub' turboprop, of which some 375
tinental bomber, the'Blackjack' is similar in appear- are being replaced by the four-jet llyushin ll-76'Can-
T he early MiG-25'Foxbat-As' have recenily been
ance to the variable-geometry Rockwell B-1 in pros- did'. 'Cubs' will carry 100 paratroops or 20000 kg updated to 'Foxbat-E' standard with some
pect for the USAF, but 25 per cent larger and with a 144,090 lb), but thelr substitute has been designed capability against low-flying targets. Main
gross weight of 267625 ks (590,000 lb). lts high- to transport twice the payload over five times the differences include an infra-red sensor under the
altitude dash speed is Mach 2.1 , and with a range range (and in the rigours of the Siberian winter, if nose and strengthened sttucturc. It is likely that
doublethatof the'Backfire' itwill beableto mounta required), Some 250 'Candids' have been delivered more powedul engines have been fitted.
hi-lo-hi mission against any target in the USA with- so far.
out inflight-refuelling. The conventional bombload of Presently, the heavy-lift element of WA consists
the 'Blackjack' is in the region of 13600 kg of 50 Antonov An-22 'Cocks' shared with Aeroflot.
(30,000 lb), although it will also act as a carrier for Powered by four contra-rotating turboprops. the
the AS-X-1 5 and later Soviet cruise missiles. 'Cock' will lift up to 80000 kg (176,365 lb), including
missiles such as the SA-4'Ganef'on its transporter,
and is the only WA aircraft able to carry a T-62 tank.
A ammon sight around a US Navy carriet batue This distinction will be lost in 1987 or 1988,
group is an escorting Tu- I 42 . This 'Bear-C' is however, when the gigantic Antonov An-400 'Con-
arcompanied by a Grumman F- I 4A Tomcat from
W- 1 I 1 'Sundowners' . Both aircraft share one dor' enters setuice. Similar to the Lockheed C-5
thing: they are both many miles from their home. Galaxy, but larger, the 'Condor' prototype is current-
Soiet long-range aircraft have been an ever- ly the biggest flying aircraft in the world. With the
inqeasing sight over the world's oceans. WA, it will carry a load of 1 20000 kg (254,550 lb) for
