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| Voron | |
|---|---|
| Role | High-altitude and high speedreconnaissancedrone Type of aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Design group | Tupolev |
| Status | Development ceased |
| Number built | 0 |
| Developed from | Lockheed D-21 |
TheTupolev Voron (Russian: Ворон; English:Raven) was a plannedsupersonicunmannedreconnaissance aircraft of theSoviet Union manufactured by the companyTupolev, largely based on or designed to compete with theLockheed D-21.
In the first mission of theLockheed D-21 on 9 November 1969, the drone reached its target area and was able to photograph the nuclear weapon testing siteLop Nor in the People's Republic ofChina, but did not turn around due to a malfunction of the navigation system and ultimately crashed in theSoviet Union. The remains of the crashed drone were recovered and analysed by the Soviet aircraft industry. Decades later, during the 1980s[1] they were given toBen Rich, an aeronautics engineer for Lockheed.[2]
TheCouncil of Ministers of the Soviet Union commissioned theTupolev OKB (Tupolev Experimental Design Bureau) to rebuild the D-21 using Soviet materials, engines and equipment. Work began at the MMZ Opyt facility near Moscow, which already had experience with the drones Jastreb-1, Jastreb-2,Reys andStrizh. The project was named Voron (English: Raven). It was headed byAlexei Tupolev, the son ofAndrei Tupolev.
The Voron was planned as a reconnaissance platform which, in conjunction with other airborne and ground-based reconnaissance tools, would contribute to overall strategic reconnaissance for the Soviet Union. Theautopilot was to guide the aircraft along a route pre-programmed with way-points. Navigation was based on aninertial navigation system. For the reconnaissance, only a high-resolution camera, which would have been attached to the underside, was available as payload. The drone was intended to be launched from aTupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber. This is similar to the modification of the D-21, which could be launched from a wing station of aBoeing B-52 Stratofortress, though a B-52 could carry a D-21 under each wing while a Tu-95 could only carry one Voron held partially inside an opened bomb bay. It was also planned to use the Voron from a bomber version of theTupolev Tu-144, as a counterpart to theLockheed M-21 / D-21 combination, and a later bomber produced asTupolev Tu-160.
Some sources state the Voron was equipped with an RD-012 engine with 1,350 kgf (13.2 kN; 3,000 lbf) thrust; other sources speak of a 3Ts4 (RD-07K) engine from the OKB-670 ofMichail Bondarjuk. The OKB-670 also used the relatively well-preservedMarquardt RJ43-MA-11 engine of the D-21. After disengaging from the carrier aircraft, the Voron was to be accelerated to a supersonic speed by the jettison-ablebooster with an output of 47,500 kgf (466 kN; 105,000 lbf). The Voron was only intended for a single mission. After completing the mission, the collected data would be separated from the rest of the drone in a reusable section containing the reconnaissance equipment and glide down on a parachute, similar to the Jastreb-1 drone.
A ground-based launch of the Voron was also planned, using a trailer with a large booster rocket. This project was soon rejected because the deployment range would have been much shorter than a carrier-aircraft launch. The work on the Voron lasted for several years and the project yielded valuable insights and useful materials for future supersonic missiles. The Voron was not built as the Soviet government came to believe that reconnaissance satellites would be more effective than drones.
General characteristics
Performance