Tupolev Tu-95 variant
Tupolev Tu-95 Tu-95K
The missile-carrying Bear-B: an airframe adapted to the K-20 weapon system, with an air-to-surface missile semi-recessed under the fuselage and a broad guidance radome under the nose.
- January 1, 1956
- First flight
History
Development of the K-20 weapon system — the Tu-95K aircraft plus the supersonic Kh-20 air-to-surface missile, AS-3 to NATO — began in March 1955, and the prototype flew on 1 January 1956. The most visible change from the Tu-95M is the broad, flat-bottomed radome under the nose, housing the 3.3 m scanning antenna of the I-band Crown Drum guidance radar. The missile, with a range of 350 km — enough to launch from outside the air-defence envelope — was carried partially recessed under the fuselage. Series production began in the spring of 1958 and operational deployment in September 1959. The extra fuel tanks and the missile itself added weight and drag and cut the aircraft's range, a shortfall that had to be offset by aerial refuelling; the Tu-95KD grew directly out of that need. Some Bear-Bs ended their careers relegated to training duties.