TheTupolev Tu-28 (NATO reporting nameFiddler) is a long-rangeinterceptor aircraft introduced by theSoviet Union in the 1960s. The official designation wasTu-128,[2] but this designation was less commonly used in the West. It was the largest and heaviest fighter[nb 1] ever to enter serial production.[2][3]
In the 1950s, theSoviet Union sought means to defend against nuclear-armed American bombers possibly penetrating its borders (especially its long and vulnerable northern border). Contemporary interceptors, such as theYakovlev Yak-28P, were able to cover a radius of just a few hundred kilometers[1][4][5] flying from northern Soviet bases likeTalagi andSavatiya;[6][7][8] the newly developedsurface-to-air missiles had even shorter range.[1] Considering both, the sheer numbers required to defend a 5,000 km air front[nb 2] were economically impossible to maintain. This left the Soviet Union able to provide a modern air defense only for selected valuable areas.[5] ThePVO decided to cover the entire territory, but with a looser defence. In 1955 it placed a requirement for a large area-defense interceptor, that would achieve it with sparse[nb 3] airbases. The PVO requirement called for asupersonic aircraft with enormous fuel tanks for both a goodpatrol time and long range, a capableradar, and the most powerfulair-to-air missiles possible. The first attempt, although unsuccessful, was theLavochkin La-250, a 30-tonne interceptor prototype which was[5] the last of the Lavochkin design bureau's aircraft.
Iosif Nezval[2][5] ofTupolev Design Bureau led development of the new interceptor aircraft. The work began in 1958, based on an existing single prototype of the unsuccessfulTu-98 supersonic bomber. The military designation of the interceptor was at firstTu-28, but it was changed in 1963 toTu-128, identical to the designation used by theOKB.[1][2][5]
The Tu-128 had a broad, low/mid-mountedswept wing carrying the mainlanding gear in wing-mounted pods, and slabtailplanes. TwoLyulka AL-7F-2turbojet engines[1][2] were mounted in the fuselage. The two-man crew of pilot and navigator were seated in tandem.
The Tu-128, with its maximum weight of 43tonnes, was the heaviest fighter to enter service.[nb 1][2] A pure interceptor with highwing loading, unsophisticated but reliableavionics, and poor visibility, it was not an agile aircraft[2] and was intended only to engageNATO bombers like theB-52,[2][5] notdogfight smaller aircraft.
The interceptor made its initial public appearance in the 1961Tushino air parade. Western experts, unaware that the bulge on the belly carried testing instruments, mistook it for a large ventral radar for a mixed interceptor/AWACS role.[3] The production version lacked the bulge and had a large noseradome housing a radar, known as RP-S[nb 4]Smerch, having a detection range of about 50 km (31 mi[2]) and a lock-on range of about 40 km (25 mi).[1]
Production of the Tu-128 ended in 1970 with a total of 198 aircraft having been built.[1][9]
Development of various projects designatedTu-28A,Tu-28-80,Tu-28-100,Tu-138, andTu-148 were proposed by the Tupolev Design Bureau but all were abandoned.[1]
The Tu-128's only publicly reported combat operation was the destruction of NATOreconnaissance balloons. The aircraft remained in service until 1990.[1][2] Through the 1980s, units armed with the Tu-128 converted to theMikoyan MiG-31,[1][3] which features more advanced sensors and weapons.[10]
Development test aircraft, one built. OKB designation was128.[1][2][3] In the West,Fiddler-A was used for all the aircraft with twin ventral fins[2] — these included a prototype and a few of initial production (perhaps two[1] planes).
Tu-128 (also known as Tu-28; 'Fiddler-B')
Main version, first deployed operationally in 1964[1] (or 1966[2][5] – sources differ). The military designation was at firstTu-28,[2][5] but the existing aircraft were renamed in 1963.[1][11] The entire weapon complex (aircraft, radar, missiles) was designatedTu-128S-4.[1][2] In the Western sources, but not in Soviet, often the more precise, but erroneous, designation of this version[3][4][9] is mentioned as eitherTu-28P orTu-128P.
Tu-128UT (also known as Tu-28UT)
Training version with an additional cockpit forward of the normal one, in place of a radar. Ten built and four converted from standard interceptors.[1][11]
Tu-128M
A 1979 modernization of almost all[1] existing aircraft for better interception at low altitude. Development originated in 1970.[2] Engines and airframe were not altered.[1] The full designation of the entire weapons complex wasTu-128S-4M.[1][2][11] It contained a new RP-SMSmerch-M radar, and new missile set: R-4RM plus R-4TM.[1][11]
^For example, in 1972, a mere six air bases provided the sole interceptor cover for almost a half of the Soviet Union's interior. These bases employed most of the Tu-128 force.[2]: 140 [4]: 259–262
^Some sources provide the radar's designation as RP-5 instead of RP-S, possibly a mistake.
Media related toTupolev Tu-128 at Wikimedia Commons
