Tupolev Tu-22M: the swing-wing Backfire bomber

The Tupolev Tu-22M, NATO reporting name Backfire, is a Soviet bomber designed by Tupolev and built by the Kazan Aircraft Production Association¹. It is a long-range aircraft for nuclear strike, conventional attack, anti-ship and reconnaissance missions², and it first flew on 30 August 1969. In 2024 the Russian Air Force had 57 of them in service³, according to the IISS Military Balance.

Design and development

The earlier Tu-22 had a landing speed 100 km/h above previous bombers and a tendency to pitch up and strike its tail on landing. Tupolev first considered modifying the Tu-22 with more powerful engines and a changed wing sweep; it later developed a new design as an alternative to the T-4. After work on Sukhoi’s T-4 was halted, the bureau was officially charged in 1967 with building that variable-geometry bomber, meant to reach 2,300 km/h and fly 7,000 km without refuelling². Compared with the T-4 it was an evolutionary design, whose appeal lay in simplicity and low cost³.

The name Tu-22M suggested a modified Tu-22. The Air Force and Tupolev agreed to pass off the design as an update of the Tu-22 in talks with the government, and the Soviets used the designation in SALT-2 arms control negotiations. Its two turbofans sit in the fuselage, fed by large rectangular air intakes². The crew is four: pilot, co-pilot, navigator and weapon systems officer³.

Specifications

The Tu-22M3 is 42.46 m long; span 34.28 m at 20°, 23.3 m at 65°. It weighs up to 126,000 kg at take-off. Its Kuznetsov engines and top speed are two NK-25 turbofans of 247.9 kN; 1,997 km/h at 9,140 m. Range is 7,000 km ferry, or 2,500 km with a typical 10,000 kg load³.

Range was the point of a long Cold War argument. Tupolev claimed a radius of action of only 2,200 km for the early Backfires, while the US Defense Intelligence Agency first estimated about 5,000 km², enough to threaten the United States.

Variants

• Tu-22M0: the first version, produced only in small quantities due to inadequate performance².
• Tu-22M1 (Backfire-A): the first prototype was finished in July 1971², and after four years of tests it joined Soviet Naval Aviation.
• Tu-22M2 (Backfire-B): the first large-scale version, with NK-22 engines; 211 were produced at Kazan between 1973 and 1983².
• Tu-22M3 (Backfire-C): a lengthened nose, new intakes and wing sweep up to 65 degrees. It first flew on 20 June 1977, joined the active inventory in 1983², and 268 were built until 1993³.
• Tu-22MR: a long-range reconnaissance version that entered service in 1985².
• Tu-22M3M: an upgrade with NK-32-02 engines, SVP-24-22 bombsights and a phased array NV-45 radar. It was rolled out at Kazan on 16 August and made its debut flight in December 2018⁴; service life is to be extended to 40–45 years³.

Production of every variant totalled 497³.

Operators and service

The Soviet Union first used the Tu-22M in combat in Afghanistan, flying strikes from December 1987 to January 1988 to help relieve the Siege of Khost, and again in October 1988. Under the Nunn–Lugar programme, the 60 Tu-22Ms inherited by Ukraine were dismantled by 2006. India reportedly signed a lease-to-buy contract in 1999³ for four aircraft.

Russia has flown it on bombing missions in the First Chechen War, the Russo-Georgian War, Syria and the war against Ukraine³. In August 2023 Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Russia had 27 operable Tu-22M3s left. Russian forces regularly use the type against Ukraine, commonly armed with AS-4 heavy anti-ship missiles⁵.

Safety record

On 8 July 2004 a Tu-22M3 suffered a total electrical failure at night and crashed short of the runway at Soltsy. On 9 August 2008 a Georgian Buk-M1 missile shot down a Tu-22MR. A Tu-22M3 crash-landed at Olenya on 22 January 2019³ after a training flight.

A drone strike on 19 August 2023⁵ destroyed a Tu-22M3 at Soltsy. On 19 April 2024⁶ a Tu-22M3 crashed in Stavropol Krai: Ukraine’s air force said it shot the bomber down, while Russia’s defence ministry blamed a technical malfunction. In Operation Spiderweb on 1 June 2025³, at least four Tu-22M3s were destroyed at Belaya air base.

Similar aircraft

• Tupolev Tu-16: an earlier Tupolev jet bomber built in far larger numbers: 1,509 by 1963⁷.
• Tupolev Tu-160: also variable-geometry, but powered by four NK-32 engines⁸ to the Tu-22M3’s two.
• Rockwell B-1 Lancer: an American swing-wing bomber whose sweep is restricted to 60 degrees⁹.