Tupolev Tu-126

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-126

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.

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 Flat 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.

The first prototype Tu-126 flew on 23 January 1962. Testing, which continued
through the autumn of 1964, showed that while the radar was effective over
water, performance was poorer over land. 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.


Role
Airborne early warning and control

Manufacturer
Tupolev OKB

First flight
23 January 1962

Introduction
1965

Retired
1984 (USSR)

Status
Retired

Primary user
Soviet Air Force

Number built
about 12

Developed from
Tupolev Tu-114

The Tu-126 entered service in 1965, although it was only identified by Western
intelligence in 1968 after appearing in a Soviet documentary film. Eight
production aircraft were built in addition to the prototype from between 1965
and 1968 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. A single
Tu-126 was also leased by India during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The last
Tu-126 was retired in 1984.


Specifications (Tu-126)

General characteristics
Crew: 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)
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-rotating

Performance
Maximum speed: 790 km/h (491 mph; 427 kn)
Cruise speed: 520 km/h (323 mph; 281 kn) at 9,000 m (29,528 ft)
Range: 7,000 km (4,350 mi; 3,780 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)




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