Tupolev Tu-22M3M
The modernised Backfire — new radar, a glass cockpit and about 80 % new avionics · First flight 2018
The Tu-22M3M is the modernisation programme for the Tu-22M3 fleet. Roughly 80 percent of the avionics are replaced or upgraded: the crew gets a digital glass cockpit, the nose houses the NV-45 phased-array radar, and navigation and bomb-aiming are handled by the SVP-24-22 system with GLONASS satellite navigation. A new electronic-warfare suite and equipment for in-flight refuelling were also added.
The first Tu-22M3M flew on 28 December 2018. Its main stand-off weapon is the Kh-32, a development of the Kh-22 with greater range, of which up to three can be carried.
Outwardly the M3M looks almost identical to the Tu-22M3. Upgraded aircraft have been shown at the MAKS air show at Zhukovsky.
