Tupolev Tu-128
| Tu-28/Tu-128 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tu-128 at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino, Russia | |
| Role | Interceptor |
| Design group | Tupolev |
| Built by | Voronezh Aircraft Production Association |
| First flight | 18 March 1961 |
| Introduction | 1964 (or 1966) |
| Retired | 1990 (Russia) |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Defence Forces |
| Number built | 198 (including 10 trainers) |
| Developed from | Tupolev Tu-98 bomber prototype |
The Tupolev Tu-28 (NATO reporting name Fiddler) was a long-range interceptor aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The official designation was Tu-128, but this designation was less commonly used in the West. It was the largest and heaviest fighter ever in service.
In the 1950s, the Soviet Union sought means to defend against nuclear-armed American bombers possibly penetrating its borders (especially its long and vulnerable northern border). Contemporary interceptors, even the Yakovlev Yak-28P, were able to cover only a radius of a few hundred kilometers; the newly developed surface-to-air missiles had even shorter range. Considering both, the sheer numbers required to defend a 5,000 km air front were economically impossible to maintain. This left the Soviet Union able to provide a modern air defense only for selected valuable areas. The PVO decided to cover the entire territory, but with a more loose defense. In 1955 it placed a requirement for a large area-defense interceptor, that would achieve it with sparse airbases. The PVO requirement called for a supersonic aircraft with enormous fuel tanks for both a good patrol time and long range, a capable radar, and the most powerful air-to-air missiles possible. The first attempt, although unsuccessful, was a 30-tonne Lavochkin La-250 prototype, the last of the Lavochkin design bureau's aircraft.
Iosif Nezval of Tupolev Design Bureau led development of the new interceptor aircraft. The work began in 1958, based on an existing single prototype of the unsuccessful Tu-98 supersonic bomber. The military designation of the interceptor was at first Tu-28, but it was changed in 1963 to Tu-128, identical to the designation used by the OKB.
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