Wingspan 2.24 m Manufacturer Tupolev | First flight 1970 | |
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Similar Tupolev Tu 141, Mil Mi 24, Mikoyan MiG 29 | ||
The Tupolev Tu-143 Reys (Flight or Trip, Russian: Рейс) was a Soviet unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in service with the Soviet Army and with a number of its Warsaw Pact and Middle East allies during the late 1970s and 1980s. It contained a reconnaissance pod, that was retrieved after flight, and from which imagery was contained.
Contents
- Development
- M 143 variant
- Tu 243 variant
- Tu 300 variant
- Current operators
- Former operators
- Specifications
- References
Development
The Tu-143 was introduced in 1976 and strongly resembled the Tu-141, but was substantially scaled-down. It was a short-range (60–70 kilometer) tactical reconnaissance system and had a low-level flight capability. The Tu-143 was truck-launched with JATO booster, recovered by parachute, and powered by a TR3-117 turbojet with 5.8 kN (590 kgf, 267 lbf) thrust. The initial version carried film cameras, but later versions carried a TV or radiation detection payload, with data relayed to a ground station over a datalink. Some 950 units were produced in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Tu-143 was used by Syria in reconnaissance missions over Israel and Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War, as well as by Soviet forces in Afghanistan during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
M-143 variant
A target drone version, the M-143, was introduced in the mid-1980s.
Tu-243 variant
The Tu-143 was followed into service in the late 1980s by the similar but improved "Tu-243 Reys-D", with a 25 cm (10 inch) fuselage stretch, to provide greater fuel capacity and about twice the range; an uprated TR3-117 engine with 6.28 kN (640 kgf, 1,410 lbf) thrust; and improved low-altitude guidance.
Tu-300 variant
Since 1995, Tupolev began promoting the further refined "Tu-300 Korshun", which resembles its predecessors but is fitted with a nose antenna dome and nose fairings for modern sensors and electronic systems. It also features a centerline pylon for a sensor pod or munitions. Financial issues forced a halt to development at the end of the 1990s, but work was resumed in 2007.
Current operators
Former operators
Specifications
Tupolev TU-143 Reys: