The Tupelov-22M, or the Backfire as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) calls it is a variable sweep-wing, long range supersonic strategic bomber operated by the Russian Air Force. The aircraft was conceptualized as the shortcomings of the original Tu-22 became apparent. The aircraft was christened Tu-22M as the Soviet Air Force and the Tupelov Design Bureau wanted to stave off criticism over the failures of the original Tu-22.
The ‘redesign’, that began in 1962, worked like a charm and the aircraft now is the backbone of the Russia’s strategic bomber fleet. The Backfire makes up nearly half of the country’s strategic bomber fleet, the other two aircraft in the fleet are stable mates of this bomber namely the Tupelov-95 (Bear) and the Tupelov-160 (Blackjack).
The Tu-22M is a very capable aircraft and can perform a variety of roles such as reconnaissance (both over land and sea), long-range strategic bombing, maritime strike, interdiction, tactical bombing and nuclear weapons delivery. The aircraft has been provided with modern avionics and radar as part of a modernization drive.
The aircraft’s weaponry has also been updated. The bomber, which has a four member crew, can carry a payload of up to 24,000 kgs as far as 2,500 km and return to base without the need of aerial refueling. The crown of the weapon portfolio of this impressive bomber is the hypersonic Kinzhal missile which can fly at a bewildering speed of Mach 10. It can also carry the Kh-32 cruise missile that can hit a target as far as 600 km away. It can also fire the Kh-15 missile which can fly as fast as five times the speed of sound to hit a target 300 km away.
The aircraft was first unveiled in 1980 during a major Warsaw Pact exercise. During the exercise the aircraft had conducted simulated anti-surface vessel operations in the Baltic Sea in support of amphibious operations. Although the American’s had satellite images of the aircraft way back in 1969 while it was in development phase. The aircraft was also photographed over the Norwegian Sea by Norway’s Air Force. A year later the aircraft carried out simulated missile attacks on two U.S. Navy Carrier Battle Groups in the North Pacific.
The aircraft first dropped bombs in anger in Afghanistan in December 1987 against the Mujahideen in Eastern Afghanistan in the successful effort to relieve the siege of Khost. The Backfire then demonstrated its capability during the first Chechen conflict in 1995 and hit the regional capital of Grozny, playing a part in turning the city in a heap of rubble.
Recently, the aircraft played a key role in the Syrian Civil War and was also used by the Russian Air Force against the Islamic State in that country. The Backfire initially operated from airbases well within Russia to prosecute these strikes, but later some of the bombers started operating from the Hamedan Air Force Base in Iran.
In the ongoing operations in Ukraine the Russians have effectively used the aircraft to bomb several targets in Ukraine. The bomber has dropped bombs during the battle of Mariupol and has fired Kh-22 cruise missiles on targets deep inside Ukraine.
Dhruv Yadav
