Supersonic intercontinental bomber T-4MS ("product 200"): main characteristics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Projects that did not have time to become a reality, but went down in history … How many of them, well-deservedly and not so forgotten. One of these projects is a strategic supersonic intercontinental bomber-missile carrier developed by a design bureau led by P. O. Sukhoi.

Prerequisites for Creation

As often happens, the question of the need to create strategic aviation, which had already arisen before, was raised again by the military in 1967, when the decision was made in the United States to create a promising manned strategic aircraft (Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft). The AMSA project began the creation of the famous B-1, a high- altitude deep invasion strategic bomber.

And in January 1969, by order of the Minister of Aviation Industry, a competition began between the design bureaus of V. M. Myasishchev, A. N. Tupolev and P. O. Sukhoi. In accordance with this order, enterprises had to conduct research on a strategic dual-mode aircraft, create a power plant, missile weapons and on-board systems. Only creationradio-electronic complex was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of radio-electronic industry. His order appeared in the spring of that year.

Initial data

A government decree in the late autumn of 1967 determined the characteristics of the future aircraft.

It was supposed to have exceptional flight characteristics in the first place.

At an altitude of up to 1.8 km, the speed was set to 3.2-3.5 thousand km/h. Moreover, it was assumed that in this mode and at subsonic speeds near the ground, the aircraft should fly at least 11-13 thousand km, and in high- altitude flight at subsonic flight range should have been 16-18 thousand km.

A task was also issued on the composition of weapons. It was supposed to be interchangeable and consisted of free-falling and adjustable bombs of various types and purposes, and air-launched missiles, four hypersonic Kh-45 Molniya and up to 24 aeroballistic Kh-2000s. The total mass of weapons was also set - 45 tons.

Begin development

The Sukhoi P. O. Design Bureau since 1961, also on a competitive basis, has been developing the T-4 supersonic bomber-missile carrier, which received the second name "Sotka" for a mass of 100 tons. It had to reach a speed of 3000 km / h, overcome the thermal barrier, and therefore have almost perfect aerodynamics. An air-to-ground missile, a power plant and navigation equipment were specially developed for it. Only the thirty-third draft of the new aircraft was approved.

On its base anda new strategic dual-mode aircraft T-4MS was developed with maximum continuity with the original model. The new development should have remained: the power plant, already mastered new materials, standard design and technological solutions, developed and tested on-board systems and equipment, and, which would become important in the mass production process, proven technological processes. The machine even received a code by analogy with Sotka. Its take-off weight, according to the calculations of the designers, approached two hundred tons, which is why the T-4MS aircraft began to be called - “product 200”.

New Solutions

Unfortunately, we failed to implement such a wonderful idea. If you keep the layout scheme, then the dimensions and weight of the new product increased dramatically, but still it was not possible to place the full volume of weapons.

Therefore, in the Sukhoi P. O. the specialists first of all took up the development of a new layout scheme, which would allow obtaining the maximum possible volumes with a minimum washed surface and ensuring the placement of the necessary weapons in the cargo compartments. At the same time, the design had to be as rigid as possible so that the aircraft could fly at high speeds near the ground.

In addition, it was decided to exclude the propulsion system from the power circuit of the aircraft. In this case, it became possible to create new modifications with other engines. The new layout was supposed to retain the possibility of continuous improvement of the flight characteristics and technical data of the new product.

Bduring the work of the designer and created an aerodynamic layout, the integrated circuit of which was carried out according to the “flying wing” type, rotary consoles of a small area (relatively small, of course) could change the sweep in flight.

Bomber layout

A fundamentally new layout of the T-4MS aircraft, agreed at the end of the summer of 1970, served as the basis for the development of the preliminary project.

Models of this layout were blown in TsAGI wind tunnels and showed exceptional results both at subsonic flight speeds and at supersonic speeds.

Due to the small area of the rotary consoles and the rigid supporting body of the center section, the elastic deformation of the wing during flights near the ground has disappeared.

At the same time, the sweep of the rotary consoles varied in the range from 30° to 72°.

Luck was undoubted, but the whole next year was devoted to finalizing the preliminary project.

The thickness and shape of the wing profile was changed to further improve the aerodynamic quality. The use of supercritical profiles was supposed to increase the cruising subsonic speed. Studies have been conducted on how wing bevels can affect the operation of the power plant and vertical tail. Work continued on the selection of the shape of the wing in order to increase the stability and controllability of the machine.

The optimal design and power scheme of the airframe was selected in order to increase the mass return of fuel.

Work on mistakes

All developments were tested in TsAGI wind tunnels. As a result, experts found that the aircraftpoor alignment, there is an instability of at least 5%. It was decided to further refine the layout.

As a result, horizontal tail and a long nose appeared in the T-4MS variants. In one version, the nose even had a needle-like shape. But still, a layout was adopted for further development, in which the nose was somewhat elongated, besides it, only engine nacelles, vertical tail with two keels, and rotary wing consoles protruded noticeably from the supporting fuselage. Particular attention was paid to the problem of reducing visibility on enemy radars.

Description of the T-4MS bomber

The plane was to be flown by a crew of three, which was housed in a low-protruding canopy. At the same time, the commander of the ship, the pilot and the navigator-operator had to fly in spacesuits, despite the fact that the cockpit of two compartments was airtight. The front compartment was intended for the pilots, and the rear compartment for the navigator. Since the canopy practically did not protrude, special flaps were provided to improve visibility during takeoff and landing.

Ejection seats ensured the safe emergency escape of the aircraft at any altitude and speed, including during landing and takeoff.

The radio-electronic equipment on board consisted of navigation, flight systems, radio communication and defense systems, computing, defense-sighting systems, missile breeding and control systems.

The overall dimensions of the airship, which was defined as a supersonic intercontinental bomber,made:

- length - 41.2 m;

- height - 8 m;

- span of the center section - 14.4 m;

- wingspan at a sweep angle of 30° - 40.8 m;

- wing area at a sweep angle of 30° - 97.5 sq.m.

The estimated takeoff weight of the aircraft was 170 tons.

Bomber power plant

In the tail section, in two nacelles spaced apart, there were four NK-101 DTRDs in pairs. The takeoff thrust of each of them was 20,000 kgf. It was assumed that the engines would combine the advantages of a bypass engine in cruise flight at subsonic speeds and a turbojet during acceleration and in supersonic flight.

The nacelles had flat adjustable air intakes separated by a partition for each engine, protected from icing and ingress of foreign objects.

In addition to the engines, the power plant included systems for refueling the aircraft on the ground and in the air, powering the engines, emergency fuel dumping, pressurization, cooling, and fire fighting.

The main fuel tanks were located in the center section compartments.

Estimated flight data

The aircraft was designed for ultra-long distance flights. According to calculations, it could fly without refueling in flight with a normal combat load of 9 tons at a cruising speed of 900 km / h (subsonic) 14 thousand km, and at 3000 km / h (supersonic) - 9 thousand km.

At altitude, the bomber could fly at a speed of 3.2 thousand km/h, near the ground - 1.1 thousand km/h.

At the same timethe maximum height to which, according to calculations, an aircraft could climb was 24,000 m.

With such a large mass, the takeoff run was 100 m, and the length of the run after landing was 950 m.

Weapons on board

The calculated bomb load was 9 tons of free-falling and coordinated bombs.

The promising T-4MS missile carrier was supposed to carry from two to four long-range Kh-45 Molniya liquid-propellant missiles, which were specially developed for the T-4 project, with an ARLGSN guidance system and a cumulative high-explosive warhead. Their feature was a radio-transparent fairing. The length of the rocket is about 10 m, the launch weight is 5 tons, the payload is 0.5 tons. Its flight range is 1.5 thousand km, flight speed is up to 9 thousand km/h.

Also, the aircraft was armed with up to 24 Kh-2000 missiles with an INS guidance system, with a firing range of up to 300 km, a flight speed of about 2 M and a launch weight of 1 t.

Different types of weapons, missiles, air bombs, mine-torpedo weapons, disposable bomb clusters, were located in two internal compartments equipped with ventilation and thermal protection, transportation and drop systems.

Contest results

In addition to the brainchild of P. O. MAP at the scientific and technical council in the fall of 1972.

Tu-160 was initially rejected by the military because of too much similarity with a passenger aircraft. M-20 satisfied the military, but the newly created design bureau did nothad the production capacity for serial production of the machine.

T-4MS attracted general attention and was recognized as the best, but … At the same time, a new fighter was created in the Design Bureau under the leadership of P. O. Sukhoi, which was released under the number SU-27, work was being done to create modifications of existing fighters Su-24 and Su-17M. The Ministry of Aviation Industry considered that these works in "light" aviation are more important, and the design bureau will not be able to work in two diverse areas.

So it happened that the project of the Sukhoi P. O. Design Bureau won the competition, and further work was carried out by A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau. Moreover, the commander of the Air Force P. S. Kutakhov offered to transfer all the materials to the Tupolevs, but they refused and continued to independently improve their development.

Therefore, an aircraft with approximately the same payload and flight range at subsonic speeds, but with a flight weight greater by 35% and half the flight range at superzoom than it could have been if adopted was the project of P. O. Sukhoi.

Immediately after the end of the competition, work on the T-4MS project was stopped. The plane never saw the sky, but the ideas born during its development were embodied in the same Tu-160, and in the Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters. Maybe they will be embodied in the aircraft of the current century.