In 1958 increasing concern over the threat of an American nuclear strike against the USSR from the north led to a new requirement for an airborne radar system, which would avoid the problems and expense of attempting to create a land-based radar system to cover all of the enormous Soviet northern coast. The Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered to design an AEW&C aircraft. After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu-95 and a Tu-116, a decision was made to use the Tupolev Tu-114 with its wider fuselage instead. This solved problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu-95 and Tu-116 designs. To adhere to the flight range requirements, the plane was fitted with an air-to-air refuelling probe. The Tu-126 had a crew of 12 and carried the Liana radar (NATO reporting name Flap Jack) in a rotodome mounted above the fuselage. It had no look-down capability, so the switch by NATO to low level penetration made it fairly irrelevant.[1]
The first prototype Tu-126 flew on 23 January 1962.[2] Testing, which continued through the autumn of 1964, showed that while the radar was effective over water, performance was poorer over land.[2] It was also found that the large contra-rotating propellers of the four engines seriously compromised the performance of the radar. This problem was only marginally countered by the installation of a new radar called Shmel.[3]
Operational historyedit
An A-4E from the USS Intrepid intercepting a Tu-126 over the Mediterranean Sea in 1973
The Tu-126 entered service in 1965, although it was only identified by Western intelligence in 1968 after appearing in a Soviet documentary film.[2] Eight production aircraft were built in addition to the prototype from between 1965 and 1968[2][4] and all were nominally based at Šiauliai Air Base. Western intelligence estimated that its radar performance was inferior to Western equivalents, that it was unable to detect cruise missiles or small aircraft at low level. However, it was assessed that the Tu-126 had powerful jamming equipment. The Tu-126 was used by the Soviet Air Force, until being replaced by the Beriev A-50. The last Tu-126 was retired in 1984.[5]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev Tu-126.
Tu-114 in Museum of Civilian Aviation, Ulyanovsk, Russia
November 25, 2023
tupolev, nato, reporting, name, moss, airborne, early, warning, control, aircraft, developed, from, tupolev, airliner, tupolev, design, bureau, service, with, armed, forces, soviet, union, from, 1965, 1984, 126tu, 126role, airborne, early, warning, controlmanu. The Tupolev Tu 126 NATO reporting name Moss was an airborne early warning and control aircraft developed from the Tupolev Tu 114 airliner by the Tupolev design bureau It was in service with the armed forces of the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1984 Tu 126Tu 126Role Airborne early warning and controlManufacturer Tupolev OKBFirst flight 23 January 1962Introduction 1965Retired 1984 USSR Status RetiredPrimary user Soviet Air ForceNumber built about 12Developed from Tupolev Tu 114 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Operators 4 Specifications Tu 126 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Bibliography 7 External linksDesign and development editIn 1958 increasing concern over the threat of an American nuclear strike against the USSR from the north led to a new requirement for an airborne radar system which would avoid the problems and expense of attempting to create a land based radar system to cover all of the enormous Soviet northern coast The Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered to design an AEW amp C aircraft After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu 95 and a Tu 116 a decision was made to use the Tupolev Tu 114 with its wider fuselage instead This solved problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu 95 and Tu 116 designs To adhere to the flight range requirements the plane was fitted with an air to air refuelling probe The Tu 126 had a crew of 12 and carried the Liana radar NATO reporting name Flap Jack in a rotodome mounted above the fuselage It had no look down capability so the switch by NATO to low level penetration made it fairly irrelevant 1 The first prototype Tu 126 flew on 23 January 1962 2 Testing which continued through the autumn of 1964 showed that while the radar was effective over water performance was poorer over land 2 It was also found that the large contra rotating propellers of the four engines seriously compromised the performance of the radar This problem was only marginally countered by the installation of a new radar called Shmel 3 Operational history edit nbsp An A 4E from the USS Intrepid intercepting a Tu 126 over the Mediterranean Sea in 1973The Tu 126 entered service in 1965 although it was only identified by Western intelligence in 1968 after appearing in a Soviet documentary film 2 Eight production aircraft were built in addition to the prototype from between 1965 and 1968 2 4 and all were nominally based at Siauliai Air Base Western intelligence estimated that its radar performance was inferior to Western equivalents that it was unable to detect cruise missiles or small aircraft at low level However it was assessed that the Tu 126 had powerful jamming equipment The Tu 126 was used by the Soviet Air Force until being replaced by the Beriev A 50 The last Tu 126 was retired in 1984 5 Operators edit nbsp Soviet UnionSoviet Air Forces Soviet Air Defence Forces nbsp EgyptEgyptian Air Force 6 nbsp IndiaIndian Air Force 7 Specifications Tu 126 edit nbsp Data from The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 4 General characteristicsCrew 12 plus a full spare crew Length 56 5 m 185 ft 4 in with refuelling probe Wingspan 51 4 m 168 ft 8 in Height 16 05 m 52 ft 8 in 8 Wing area 311 1 m2 3 349 sq ft Empty weight 103 000 kg 227 076 lb Gross weight 171 000 kg 376 990 lb Fuel capacity 60 800 kg 134 041 lb Powerplant 4 Kuznetsov NK 12MV axial flow turboprop engines 11 033 kW 14 795 hp each Propellers 8 bladed contra rotatingPerformance Maximum speed 790 km h 490 mph 430 kn Cruise speed 520 km h 320 mph 280 kn at 9 000 m 29 528 ft Range 7 000 km 4 300 mi 3 800 nmi internal fuel only Endurance 20 hours with one in flight refuel Service ceiling 10 700 m 35 100 ft Power mass 0 26 kW kg 0 16 hp lb See also editRelated development Tupolev Tu 95 Tupolev Tu 114 Tupolev Tu 142Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era EC 121 Warning StarReferences editNotes edit Overscan s guide to Russian Military Avionics Archived from the original on July 7 2012 a b c d Duffy and Kandalov 1996 p 136 Beriev A 50 Mainstay Spyflight co uk Retrieved 27 October 2011 a b Gunston 1995 p 434 Pike John ed Tupolev TU 126 Moss Globalsecurity org Retrieved 27 October 2011 Al Moqatel الحرب الإلكترونية www moqatel com Retrieved 2022 03 09 W Bowman Martin Cold war jet Combat 1950 1972 Taylor 1988 p 267 Bibliography edit Duffy Paul and Kandalov Andrei Tupolev The Man and His Aircraft Shrewsbury UK Airlife 1996 ISBN 1 85310 728 X Gunston Bill The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey 1995 ISBN 1 85532 405 9 Taylor John W R ed Jane s All The World s Aircraft 1988 89 Coulsden Surrey UK Jane s Information Group 1988 ISBN 0 7106 0867 5 Yefim Gordon Dmitriy Kommisarov Flight Craft 6 Il yushin Beriyev A 50 Pen amp Sword Books Ltd 2015 ISBN 978 1 4738 2391 4External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev Tu 126 Tu 114 in Museum of Civilian Aviation Ulyanovsk Russia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tupolev Tu 126 amp oldid 1166349520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
