TU-22M Backfire
38th largest aircraft: The TU-22M "Backfire" is a Soviet strategic strike bomber that can go up to supersonic speeds and have served an amazing career.
Description[]
The TU-22M Backfire was designed by Tupolev during the the cold war but didn't receive significant service until later. The Backfire was a supersonic bomber capable of mach 2 and represents one of Russia's fastest aircraft. Even though it still serves as it has some older features including some similar to the Concorde airliner such as the front area, the swing-wings, and the overall shape which is not as areodynamic as modern jets. Lately the TU-22M has also received upgrades including STOL ( short take off and landing) engines, exportation specifications, and new hardware to oprate long-range weapons. The TU-22M has had a remarkable career in which it fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya and have proved incredibly effective, only one was shot down, and lately they have still been serving even though just 83 are left and production has halted. Now this huge jet has pioneered many things and have still been in service since the 1960's and are planned to serve Russia past 2020, because it is one reliable machine!
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Photos[]
The upgraded TU-22M3 in flight
The underbelly of the Backfire.
A Tu-22M ready to fly!