tupolev tu-128 fiddler

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

the tu-128, with its maximum weight of 43 tonnes, was the heaviest fighter to enter service. it was an interceptor with high wing loading, unsophisticated but reliable avionics and poor visibility. it was not an agile aircraft. it was intended to combat only nato bombers like the b-52, not engage in dogfights with smaller aircraft. the interceptor made its initial public appearance in the 1961 tushino air parade. western experts, unaware that the bulge on the belly carried testing instruments, mistook it for a large ventral radar for a mixed interceptor/awacs role.