‘BACKFIRE’ BOOST
Tu-22M3M UPGRADE READY FOR TESTS
T
HE KAZAN AIRCRAFT
factory rolled out
the irst modernized
Tupolev Tu-22M3M
‘Backire’ on August 16,
exactly nine months
after the initial upgraded Tu-160M
‘Blackjack’ emerged. The president
of United Aircraft Corporation,
Yury Slyusar, told reporters, ‘some
years of tests are ahead,’ but thatthe irst examples will be upgraded
in parallel with the trials to permit
deliveries to the Russian Aerospace
Forces (VKS) starting in 2021.
According to an oicial
announcement, 80 per cent of the
on-board avionics are new and
‘made of indigenous electronic
components’. The avionics of
the Tu-22M3M (izdeliye 45.03M)
are said to be common with theTu-160M (izdeliye 70M). A new
targeting system in the ‘Backire’
includes the NV-45M (Novella-
45M) radar system with the 1NV-
radar produced by the Leninets
Company of St Petersburg. Other
new systems include an advanced
NO-45.03M navigation suite with
INS-2000-04 inertial navigation, the
S-505-45 communications suite, and
623-3D-23 identiication friend orfoe as well as a digitally controlled
ABSU-145MT light control system.
The UKBP Design Bureau in
Ulyanovsk developed a new data
display system for a ‘glass’ cockpit.
The control systems for the engines
and of the fuel system are new as
well. The Tu-22M3M has also been
adapted for deploying new weapons
including the subsonic Kh-SD and,
in the future, hypersonic GZUR
cruise missiles.
Two external changes distinguish
the upgraded aircraft. The rear
gun post has been removed and
replaced by the Redut-45M self-
defense system. On top of the
aircraft’s nose a longitudinal fairing
has appeared, presumably linked to
the new radar. Piotr ButowskiGE AVIATION HAS revealed that
the company plans to plans to
ofer two engines to the US Air
Force for its B-52H Stratofortress
re-engine program. The contractor’s
oferings will include the CF34-
and the more advanced Passport
engine, which it believes are both
‘good candidates’ for the B-52. Both
engines will ofer the USAF excellent
reliability but the Passport will give
greater fuel eiciency. The CF34-
is already in service on Embraer 190
regional jet airliners.
Developed to power large business
jets, the Passport powers the
Bombardier Global 7000. The re-
engining program is a key element
in the service’s plans to retain its
leet of B-52Hs through to the 2050
timeframe.A pair of B-52Hs operated
by the 2nd Bomb Wing’s
96th Expeditionary Bomb
Squadron. The USAF is
planning to start a long-
awaited engine upgrade for
the type.
USAF/A1C Gerald R. WillisGE TO PROPOSE TWO OPTIONS FOR B-52H
EAGLES INTERCEPT STOLEN AIRLINER
THE OREGON AIR National Guard’s
142nd Fighter Wing at Portland
International Airport launched a pair
of F-15Cs to intercept a Horizon Air
Q400 airliner that had been stolen
from Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport on August 10. The ighters,which were equipped with live
weapons, intercepted the turboprop
near Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
Washington. The Eagle pilots trailed
the airliner and attempted to direct
the aircraft over the Paciic Ocean
while air traic controllers attemptedto convince the ‘pilot’ to return
the aircraft safely. The Q400 was
lown over the Puget Sound before
crashing on the remote Ketron island,
south of Tacoma. A full report on
the incident appears in this issue on
pages 14-17.One of the two 142nd
Fighter Wing F-15Cs
scrambling from Portland
International Airport,
Oregon, on August 10.
William T. Shemley[NEWS] HEADLINES
06 October 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net