The Tupolev Samolyot 135 was a designation that was used for two different strategic bomber projects in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and early 1960s, neither of which progressed beyond the drawing board.

Design and development

The first, proposed in 1958, was for a

Tupolev Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the ...

derivative carrying a long-range cruise-missile, to be based on the Tsybin RS (S-30), Tupolev Samolyot 100 or Tupolev Samolyot 113 missiles. The combination was estimated to have a total range of approximately . Two years later the second iteration of '135' was envisioned as a supersonic interdiction bomber powered by a variety of engines in many configurations, including as a nuclear-powered bomber. The design settled to a canard delta, similar to the North American XB-70A Valkyrie, with paired

Kuznetsov NK-6 The Kuznetsov NK-6 was a low-bypass afterburning turbofan engine, designed by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. Development Development of the NK-6 started in 1955 at the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. It was the first afterburning by-pass engine made in t ...

turbofan engine nacelles under each wing and a large single fin. Weapons would largely have been missiles, as designed, for maritime interdiction as well as long-range interdiction of enemy logistics. The design was constantly evolving and gave Tupolev valuable experience which would assist in the later design of the

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According ...

and

Tupolev Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, translit=Belyj Lebeď, translation= White Swan; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Des ...

bombers. Further development of the '135 was suspended when the

Sukhoi T-4 The Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high-speed reconnaissance, anti-ship and strategic bomber aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes called the Su-100. Design and devel ...

became the favoured outcome of the design efforts in the early 1960s,as well as high estimated cost of the '135'. Variants that were studied included: the 135K maritime strike / interdiction; '135P' supersonic transport (SST); a reconnaissance variant with cameras and ELINT equipment.

Specifications (estimated)

References

External links

* * {{Tupolev aircraft Tu-0160 1960s Soviet bomber aircraft Quadjets Low-wing aircraft Delta-wing aircraft Variable-sweep-wing aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of the Soviet Union