The OKB was constantly working on expanding the strike capabilities of the Tu-22M aircraft, including equipping the complex with new types of missiles.
In 1976, as part of measures for the further development of the complex, a decision was made to equip the Tu-22M2 with aeroballistic missiles in various versions.
In the course of work on this topic, one of the serial Tu-22M2 was converted into an experimental complex with aeroballistic missiles.
The new complex successfully passed tests and was recommended for adoption, but later it was decided to implement this missile system on a more advanced modification of the Tu-22M3 carrier aircraft, which was successfully completed in the first half of the 80s.
In 1977 - 1979, joint state tests of Tu-22M type aircraft were carried out with Kh-22MP and Kh-28 missiles with passive seeker, designed to destroy operating ground and shipborne radars.
In 1979, the SGI of the K-22MP complex with the Kh-22MP missile were successfully completed and the complex was also recommended for adoption.
Ensuring the requirements set by the Air Force for the Tu-22M was carried out by the Design Bureau and the enterprises involved in the program for the creation and improvement of the aircraft and the complex, it was very difficult - especially the achievement of the necessary parameters for the maximum range and maximum speed, as well as for further increasing the reliability of the elements of the complex.
First of all, it was necessary to solve the problem with the engine. Taking into account the current situation with powerful economical turbofan engines for heavy supersonic combat aircraft, OKE N. D. Kuznetsova in the early 70s, after several attempts to improve the NK-22 (for example, work on the NK-23), created a new TRDDF NK-25 ("E"), made according to a three-shaft scheme and equipped with the latest electronic automation systems, which made it possible to optimize engine operation in various modes.
The maximum take-off thrust of the NK-25 reached 25,000 kgf, the specific fuel consumption in the subsonic mode decreased to 0.76 kg / kgf h.
In 1974, prototype NK-25 engines were tested on the serial Tu-22M2, designated Tu-22M2E. In the next two years, the new engine underwent a large amount of tests and refinements in flights on the Tu-142LL flying laboratory.
Simultaneously with work on the NK-25 turbojet engine, the Kuznetsov Design Bureau unfolded work on the promising NK-32 turbojet engine with significantly better efficiency in subsonic cruising flight. In the future, this engine was supposed to become a unified type of TRDDF for long-range attack multi-mode aircraft of our Air Force - both for the strategic Tu-160 and for the long-range Tu-22M (originally the Tu-160 project was based on a power plant based on the NK-25).
In addition to the introduction of new engines, the Design Bureau continued to persistently work on further reducing the mass of an empty aircraft through measures of a constructive and technological nature. There were also reserves to improve the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
These and some other very promising areas of work on the further development of the aircraft led to the creation of the most advanced serial modification of the Tu-22M - the Tu-22M3 aircraft.
In January 1974, a decision was made to further modify the Tu-22M2 for the NK-25 engines. In the course of working out possible ways of modifying the design bureau, based on its own developments, it proposes not to limit itself only to replacing the engines, but to carry out additional improvements in the design and aerodynamics of the aircraft. As a result, on June 26, 1974, a government decree was issued that determined the development of the Tu-22M with NK-25 engines, with improved airframe aerodynamics, with a reduced empty weight and with improved tactical and operational characteristics.
The new modification of the Tu-22M received the official designation Tu-22M3 ("45-03").
In addition to the use of the NK-25, the OKB carried out the following constructive measures, which significantly changed the aircraft:
* Replaced the air intakes with a vertical wedge on the scoop air intakes with a horizontal wedge.
* Increased the maximum deflection angle of the wing swing up to 65 degrees.
* Introduced a new lengthened nose of the fuselage with a modified refueling rod.
* Replaced twin two-cannon stern installation with a single-cannon one with improved aerodynamic contours.
* Improved removable units, sealed slots, replaced fairings, etc.
Measures were taken to reduce the mass of an empty aircraft: they lightened the main landing gear (switched to another type of kopecks, abandoned the sliding system of the middle pair of wheels), introduced a lightweight stabilizer and a shortened rudder, made the structure of the middle part of the wing one-piece, switched to titanium in the construction of firewalls and tail drains, changed the type of thermal insulation and sealants, replaced nipple pipe joints with brazed ones, replaced hydraulic pumps and introduced generators of stable frequency in the AC power supply system, switched to contactless generators in the DC system, removing heavy bulky electrical machine converters from the board, switched to more heat-resistant electric wires, facilitated SCV units, elements manufactured by stamping and casting began to be made with minus tolerances. All measures to reduce the mass, even taking into account the increased mass of the new engines, were supposed to provide an overall reduction in the mass of an empty aircraft by 2300-2700 kg.
Changes were made in the elements of the navigation complex. We considered issues on expanding options for strike weapons and modernizing avionics and electronic warfare. The question was raised of the introduction of a new PrNK on the Tu-22M, an on-board radar of the Obzor type, a REP complex instead of disparate units of REP equipment, new types of missiles, including aeroballistic and cruising subsonic missiles.
As a result of all the improvements in the design of the aircraft, its flight characteristics were finally supposed to reach values that meet the requirements of the 1967 decree.
The new modernization project aroused great interest from the customer - there was a real opportunity to significantly improve the flight and tactical characteristics of the aircraft and expand the capabilities and efficiency of the entire aviation strike complex.
Taking into account the expected qualitative leap in the development of the Tu-22M, the customer at the initial stage of the existence of the Tu-22M3 gave the new designation Tu-32 to the new ssmolet.
In the future, due to the delay in the development of many promising modernization areas for the complex, the usual designation Tu-22M3 was left.
The well-coordinated work of the OKB and the serial plant made it possible in the shortest possible time to carry out a deep modernization of the aircraft and prepare the first prototype Tu-22M3 for flight tests, which made its first flight on June 20, 1977 (the ship's commander, test pilot A. D. Bessonov). After completing the program of flight and development tests, the Tu-22M3 has been put into serial production since 1978. Until 1983, the Tu-22M3 was built in parallel with the Tu-22M2, and since 1984, only the Tu-22M3 was in the series. In total, several hundred Tu-22M aircraft were built at KAPO. Serial production of the aircraft was discontinued in 1993.
Tests of the first Tu-22M3 showed that the aircraft of the new modification significantly surpass the Tu-22M2 in terms of their flight and tactical characteristics. Practically in terms of flight characteristics, it was possible to meet the requirements of 1967, with a significant increase in the combat capabilities of the aircraft and the entire complex. Joint state tests of the Tu-22M3 ended in 1981, and the aircraft was recommended for service.
From 1981 to 1984, the aircraft underwent an additional set of tests in the version with enhanced combat capabilities, including in the version of equipping with aeroballistic missiles. New weapons systems required additional time to fine-tune and test them, therefore, in its final form, the Tu-22M3 was officially accepted into service only in March 1989.
Prospects for the development of the Tu-22M3 complex are associated with the modernization of onboard equipment, additional equipment with advanced high-precision weapons systems and the provision of the necessary resources and service life of the airframe of the carrier aircraft, its systems and equipment.
The main goals of modernization are:
* expansion of the combat capabilities of the complex;
* increasing the defensive capabilities of the aircraft when performing a combat mission, the accuracy of navigation, the reliability and noise immunity of communications;
* ensuring the effectiveness of the use of new generation missile weapons, bomber weapons, both guided and unguided.
In terms of modernizing the avionics on the Tu-22M3, it is necessary to install a new multifunctional radar with enhanced capabilities and increased noise immunity. In the units and equipment of avionics, a transition to a new modern element base is required, which will allow to reduce the size and weight of avionics, and should also reduce the energy consumption of the equipment.
The proposed measures for the modernization of avionics, in conjunction with the ongoing work to extend the resource indicators, will ensure the possibility of effective operation of this aviation complex until 2025 - 2030.
The OKB is constantly carrying out all these measures, improving and developing the basic design of the Tu-22M3 complex, having designed several options for its development since the creation of this complex.
As noted earlier, in addition to the main variants of a long-range missile-carrier-bomber armed with bombs and X-22H missiles, a variant was prepared armed with anti-radar missiles based on X-22H missiles and aeroballistic missiles.
By the beginning of the 80s, the OKB had prepared and put into production several modifications of the Tu-22M, which differed from the basic ones in the composition of weapons and equipment.
The introduction of reconnaissance and target designation equipment into the sighting complex made it possible to re-equip the Tu-22M with anti-radar missiles, and then with aeroballistic missiles of various types. At first, these works were carried out in relation to the Tu-22M2, and then to the Tu-22M3. In the 80s, these works were crowned with success - the serial Tu-22M3 also received a version of missile armament with aeroballistic missiles on the intra-fuselage MCU and but wing ejection installations.
To replace the Tu-22PD jamming aircraft in the 70s, an attempt was made to create a director based on the Tu-22M.
In the course of these, the robot was converted into a serial producer Tu-22M2. The aircraft, which received the designation Tu-22MP, was tested, but was not transferred to the series or into service due to the lack of knowledge of the REP complex. In the future, they abandoned the idea of a specialized aircraft of the group REP and made a bet on equipping the serial Tu-22M3 with new effective complexes of REP of individual and group protection, which began to be installed on the Tu-22M3 in the second half of the 80s.
As noted above, it was planned to install HK-32 engines on the Tu-22M3, thereby improving its characteristics and unifying its power plant with another OKB aircraft, the strategic Tu-160.
To test the new power plant, one of the serial Tu-22M3s was converted, but it did not come to installing new engines, later this machine was used as a flying laboratory for testing new types of equipment and weapons.
In 1992, the OKB, together with LII and TsAGI, based on one of the first serial Tu-22M3s, created the Tu-22MLL flying laboratory, designed to conduct a wide range of full-scale flight aerodynamic studies.
In addition to the listed built versions of the Tu-22M, the Design Bureau worked out several projects of modifications and modernizations of the aircraft, the work on which did not leave the initial stages of design. In 1972, the design bureau for the naval aviation prepared a technical proposal for a radical modernization of the Tu-22M. The project received the designation "45M".
According to the project, "45M" was to be equipped with two engines NK-25 or HK-32 and have an original aerodynamic layout, to some extent reminiscent of the layout of the American SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, combined with a variable sweep wing.
The strike armament was supposed to consist of two X-45 missiles.
However, this project was not accepted for further implementation due to difficulties with a radical restructuring of serial production and with a corresponding loss in the rate of production and rearmament of the Air Force with new aircraft, which at that time the USSR could not afford.
There were projects to create a long-range interceptor Tu-22DP (DP-1) on the basis of various modifications of the Tu-22M, capable of fighting not only strike aircraft at great distances from protected objects, but also with AWACS aircraft, transport aircraft formations, and also perform strike functions
In addition to the above, there were and are several other projects for the development of the Tu-22M based on the use of modernized engines, new equipment and weapons systems, for example, the Tu-22M4 and Tu-22M5 projects. Work on the Tu-22M4 complex began in the mid-80s (until 1987, this topic, as a deep modernization of the Tu-22M, continued to bear the designation Tu-32)
The project was a modification of the serial Tu-22M3 in order to further increase the combat effectiveness of the complex by equipping the aircraft with new equipment and weapons
First of all, a new sighting and navigation system was introduced, which included a modern navigation system based on the latest element base; a new on-board radar of the Obzor type, a modernized REP complex, and a new sighting optical system were introduced; individual units of equipment for external and internal communication were replaced by a single complex, a system for pressurizing fuel tanks using liquid nitrogen was introduced, etc.
The new composition of the equipment ensured the use of both standard missiles and high-precision bomber and missile weapons systems as part of the missile armament complex. According to the Tu-22M4 program, a prototype aircraft was built by the beginning of the 90s, but in 1991, for financial reasons, work on the topic was practically curtailed in favor of a cheaper program of "minor modernization" of serial Tu-22M3s for modernized flight and navigation systems and missile control system
An experimental Tu-22M4 aircraft was used to carry out work on the further modernization of the complex.
In 1994, the OKB on its own initiative developed a project for the further modernization of the serial Tu-22M3 and the development of the Tu-22M4 theme. An increase in the combat effectiveness of the complex was supposed to be due to an increase in the range and updating of the composition of weapons systems with an emphasis on precision weapons, further modernization of avionics; reducing the signature signature of the carrier aircraft, improving the aerodynamic quality of the aircraft (modifying the wing contours, improving local aerodynamics and the quality of external surfaces).
The planned composition of the missile armament complex was supposed to include promising high-precision tactical anti-ship missiles and air-to-air missiles (for self-defense and performing a complex of functions of an escort aircraft and a "raider"), modern free-falling and guided (adjustable) bombs.
The modernized avionics were supposed to include: the latest sighting and navigation system, the modernized weapon control system, the Obzor airborne radar or a promising new radar, an upgraded communications complex, an upgraded REP complex, or a new promising complex.
According to the airframe of the aircraft, the following modifications were made: the nose of the aircraft; socks of the middle part of the wing and the rotary part of the wing, fairings over the nodes of the wing rotation; the aft fillet of the fuselage, rudder.
Specifically for deliveries abroad, the Design Bureau developed an export version of the Tu-22M3 - the Tu-22M3E aircraft, which has some differences in the composition of weapons and equipment, taking into account the latest improvements of the serial Tu-22M3 in terms of avionics, the requirements of potential foreign customers, as well as the international obligations of the USSR and the Russian Federation. Countries such as India, China, Libya, etc. can be considered as potential buyers of the aircraft.
In addition to these works on the development of the Tu-22M, the Design Bureau, as part of conversion programs in the second half of the 90s, considered a project of the ATP of the administrative class Tu-344 for 10-12 passengers, the creation of which was supposed to be based on Tu-22M2 or Tu-22M3 aircraft.
The OKB is considering the possibility of creating a promising aerospace system (AKS) on the basis of the Tu-22M3 carrier aircraft.
It should be noted that in the field of aerospace systems, the Design Bureau considers two directions as the most expedient and promising for implementation and further development.
The first direction is the creation of commercial systems based on the existing Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 carrier aircraft for the prompt launch of relatively small payloads into low-earth orbit.
The second direction is the development and flight tests of experimental complexes for testing elements of future hypersonic aircraft, including AKS and VKS, primarily hypersonic ramjet air-jet engines.
The use of the Tu-160 as a carrier aircraft makes it possible to ensure the launch of a payload weighing up to 1100-1300 kg into low-earth orbit. This topic has been thoroughly worked out in the OKB within the framework of the Burlak AKS project. In contrast, the aerospace complex based on the Tu-22M3 carrier aircraft can ensure the launch of a payload weighing 250-300 kg into orbit. developers, has more prospects for practical implementation than the AKS based on the Tu-160, due to the larger number of potential carrier aircraft and the larger possible network of airfields
Recently, a clear tendency of transition from heavy and expensive multifunctional spacecraft to the use of small spacecraft, created on the basis of the latest achievements in microminiaturization of the equipment of onboard payload equipment and spacecraft service systems, has manifested itself throughout the world. -30% per year, and the terms of creating new spacecraft are reduced from 8-10 years to 2-3 years, the costs of their creation quickly pay off. In the class of small spacecraft, up to 20 vehicles weighing up to 250 kg are launched annually. In this class, spacecraft are created for the following purposes: spacecraft of mobile communication systems (weighing 40-250 kg); Earth remote sensing spacecraft (weighing 40-250 kg), technological and university spacecraft (weighing 10-150 kg).
At present, disposable ground launch vehicles continue to be the main means of launching small spacecraft. with the help of ground launch vehicles. According to OKB estimates, an aerospace complex based on the Tu-22M3 can be created and brought to the stage of commercial use in 3-4 years.
In the second direction (the creation of a videoconferencing system and work on hypersonic aircraft), on the basis of the Tu-22M3 carrier aircraft, an experimental flight complex can be created for testing the accelerator of the Raduga-D2 hypersonic flying laboratory developed by the Raduga State Medical Design Bureau, which can provide launching to the desired trajectory of an experimental scramjet engine operating on conventional hydrocarbon or cryogenic fuel
A modified version of the serial Tu-22M3 in the export version Tu-22M3E, taking into account the specific requirements of the customer, is offered to foreign customers with a slightly different set of strike weapons. The complex, in addition to using the export version of the Kh-22ME, has expanded capabilities for the use of various types of missiles, including missiles adopted in service in these countries, for example, the Bramos missiles, developed jointly by Indian and Russian enterprises.
The first of the combat units in the Long-Range Aviation Tu-22M received the 185th Guards TBAP in Poltava. The regiment's personnel were retrained on Tu-22M2 from Tu-16. The regiment quickly mastered the new machines and the complex. In the same 1974, the Tu-22M2 began to enter the combat units of the Navy. During the 70s and 80s, several more DA and naval aviation regiments switched to Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3. After the collapse of the USSR, the Tu-22M remained only in the Russian and Ukrainian Air Forces (the last Tu-22M3 was split in Ukraine last year). Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3 aircraft took part in hostilities during the Afghan war, limitedly Tu-22M3 took part in anti-terrorist operations in the Chechen Republic.
At present, a significant number of Tu-22M3s continue to operate in the Long-Range Aviation and in the aviation of the Navy, all Tu-22M2s that remained in service in the early 90s were withdrawn from the Air Force and disposed of as redundant for the changed structure of the Russian Air Force.
The long-term successful operation of the Tu-22M3 complex, its high modernization potential, as well as the flight and tactical characteristics achieved during its many years of development, make it possible to speak of it as a unique means of combat in land and naval theaters of military operations, including as an effective means combat aircraft carrier strike groups, as well as a means of delivery of modern aircraft weapons to destroy a wide range of targets in the operational-tactical depth of battle formations both in the event of local conflicts and in the event of a global conflict using weapons of mass destruction, in the context of the use of modern air defense equipment.
All this became possible not only due to many design features incorporated in the basic design and developed during the development of the complex, but also due to the high operational characteristics obtained both for the aircraft and for the entire complex as a whole. For example, in operation, the Tu-22M3 can be used with more than ten weapon options. Moreover, the transition from one version of weapons (missile, bomber or mixed) to another is ensured in operation in the shortest possible time.
The conduct of tactical flight exercises using the Tu-22M3 in various regions of the country showed that the aircraft can be operated from operational airfields with minimal costs for preparing equipment and weapons. This was clearly confirmed during the participation of the Tu-22M3 in the hostilities in Afghanistan and the North Caucasus.
The successful use of the Tu-22M3 complex was facilitated by a proven operating system, which included:
* logistics support, the main task of which was the supply of technical equipment, ground support equipment, fuel and lubricants, spare parts, consumables and ammunition for all types of work on the aircraft and its combat use;
* radio technical support, which made it possible to conduct aircraft flights both in the area of the airfield and at large distances from it;
* other types of material and technical support, allowing the effective use of the Tu-22M3 complex.
The aircraft (aircraft connection) can be prepared as soon as possible for redeployment to an operational airfield located at a distance of 5000-7000 km from the main-based airfield. Means of destruction for the first combat sortie are usually transported aboard an airplane. The presence of the APU makes it possible to prepare for hostilities immediately after landing at an operational airfield. The well-tested system for the operation of the complex makes it possible to prepare the aircraft at the base aerodrome using stationary ground handling equipment, and at operational airfields using the available mobile service facilities and technical first-aid kits used by the ITS during relocation.
All this makes it possible to effectively use the complex in any theater of military operations, in different latitudes and climatic zones, both at base and operational airfields.
Considering the large residual life of the existing Tu-22M3 aircraft and the fact that the Russian Air Force has a fairly large number of Tu-22M3 aircraft, the Design Bureau continues to work on further modernization of the Tu-22M3 fleet. As noted above, the aircraft should receive high-precision weapons, updated avionics. The OKB is also constantly working to increase the resource indicators of the complex and its constituent parts. Modernization programs for the Tu-22M3 should significantly increase the strike potential of the aircraft and the complex, ensuring its effective operation for at least another 20-25 years. Thus, the Tu-22M3 with modernized on-board equipment, re-equipped with high-precision weapons, will constitute a significant part of the combat strength of the strike forces of the Russian Long-Range Aviation and Navy aviation for many years to come.
Brief technical description of the Tu-22M3 aircraft.
In terms of its layout and design, the Tu-22M3 is a twin-engine all-metal low-wing aircraft with two turbofan engines installed in the rear of the fuselage, with a swept wing variable in flight and a swept tail fins, with a tricycle landing gear with a front support. aluminum and titanium alloys, high-strength and heat-resistant steels, non-metallic structural materials.
The wing consists of a fixed center section - the middle part of the wing (SCHK) and two rotary parts (PCHK) - consoles having the following fixed positions along the sweep angle of 20, 30 and 65 degrees. The angle of the transverse "V" wing is 0 degrees. The swivel arm has a geometric twist, the twist angle is 4 degrees. The sweep of the SChK along the leading edge is 56 degrees. The center section is two-spar with a rear wall and load-bearing skin panels. The pivoting consoles are attached to the center section using pivot points. The wing mechanization consists of three-section slats and two-slotted flaps on the consoles and a rotary flap on the center section. Provides for blocking the release of flaps and slats at sweep angles of more than 20 degrees. The consoles are equipped with three-section spoilers for roll control (there are no ailerons on the aircraft). The wing consoles are rotated using an electro-hydraulic system by hydraulic drives with ball-screw converters connected by a synchronizing shaft.
The fuselage is of a semi-monocoque design, reinforced with powerful longitudinal beams (beams) in the cargo compartment area. In the forward part of the fuselage there are radars, a crew cabin designed for four people (ship commander, assistant ship commander, navigator-navigator and navigator-operator), equipment compartments, a front niche landing gear. Crew workplaces are equipped with KT-1M ejection seats. In the middle part of the fuselage there are fuel tanks, niches of the main landing gear, cargo compartment, air intake ducts. In the rear part of the fuselage - engines and a brake parachute compartment
The vertical tail consists of a forkil and a technologically detachable keel and rudder. Keel sweep 57 degrees. The horizontal tail consists of two one-piece swivel consoles with 59 degree sweep.
The chassis is tricycle, the nose support is two-wheeled, retracts backward in flight. The main supports are three-axle six-wheeled, retracted into the wing and partially into the fuselage. The wheels of the main supports are equipped with hydraulic disc brakes and anti-skid automatic devices. The wheels of the main supports are 1030x350, the front ones are 1000x280
The power plant includes two two-circuit turbofan engines with afterburners NK-25; adjustable multi-mode air intakes with a horizontal controlled wedge and make-up and bypass flaps; onboard auxiliary installation; fuel and oil systems; control and monitoring systems for power plant units. The turbojet engine has a maximum afterburner takeoff thrust of 25,000 kgf and a maximum non-afterburner takeoff thrust of -14,500 kgf. The auxiliary power plant TA-6A provides engine start on the ground, power supply of the AC and DC on-board network on the ground and in case of failure in flight, power supply of aircraft systems with air on the ground and, in some specified cases, in flight. The fuel is stored in the fuselage and wing (center section and console) sealed fuel flanks equipped with a neutral gas filling system, as well as a tank in the fork. The scoop-type air intakes with a horizontal wedge are equipped with make-up and bypass flaps, as well as an automatic air intake control system.
The digital flight and navigation complex of the aircraft with inertial navigation systems provides: automatic solution of navigation problems; manual, automatic and semi-automatic cross-country flight in the horizontal plane with provision of pre-landing maneuvers and landing approach; issuing the necessary information for the automatic exit of the aircraft to a given area at a given time; delivery of the necessary information to the crew of the aircraft, as well as to the systems of the complex
The aircraft is equipped with onboard means of long-range and short-range radio navigation (RSDN and RSBN), an automatic radio compass, an aiming and navigation radar of the PNA type, interfaced with the Kh-22N missile control system. The aircraft is equipped with a blind landing system, high and low altitude radio altimeters. Communication with the ground and aircraft is carried out using VHF and KB transceiver radio stations. Intra-aircraft communication between crew members is carried out using an aircraft intercom.
The missile armament of the Tu-22M3 aircraft consists of one (under the fuselage in a semi-recessed position), two (under the wing) or three (reloading version) UR Kh-22N (or MA), designed to destroy large sea and radar-contrast ground targets at ranges 140-500 km. The launch mass of the rocket is 5900 kg, the length is 11.3 m, the maximum speed corresponds to M = 3.
The bomber's armament is supplemented with hypersonic (M = 5) short-range aeroballistic missiles Kh-15, designed to destroy stationary ground targets or enemy radars. Six missiles can be placed in the fuselage on a multi-position drum launcher, four more missiles are suspended on external nodes under the wing and fuselage.
Missiles of the Kh-22N type are located: fuselage in a semi-recessed position in the fuselage cargo compartment on a retractable beam holder BD-45F, wing-type missiles on pylons, on beam holders BD-45K. Aeroballistic missiles - but MCU and ejection wing mounts.
Bomb armament, consisting of conventional and nuclear free-fall bombs with a total mass of up to 24,000 kg, is located in the fuselage (up to 12,000 kg) and on four external suspension nodes on nine MBDZ-U9-502 beam holders (typical bomb load options are 69 FAB-250 or eight FAB-1500). In the future, it is possible to arm the Tu-22M3 aircraft with high-precision guided bombs, as well as new missile launchers to destroy ground and sea targets.
Aiming during bombing is carried out using a radar and an optical bomber sight with a TV attachment.
The defensive armament of the aircraft consists of a cannon armament system with a GSh-23 type cannon (with a shortened block of barrels installed vertically and having a rate of fire increased to 4000 rds / min) with a tele-sight and a VB-157A-5 computing unit coupled with a small-arms radar sight. The aircraft is equipped with a well-developed REP complex and a passive jamming machine.
