Tupolev Tu-141

The Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh (Swift, Russian: Стриж) is a Soviet reconnaissance drone that served with the Soviet Red Army during the late 1970s and 1980s.

Tu-141 Strizh
Tu-141 Strizh at Central Air Force Museum, Monino, Russia
Role Remotely-controlled, UAV
Manufacturer Tupolev
First flight 1974
Introduction 1979
Status Retired in the USSR/Russia (1989) but reintroduced to service in Ukraine (2014)[1]
Primary users Soviet Union
Russia
Ukraine
Produced 1979–1989
Number built 142
Developed from Tupolev Tu-123
Developed into Tupolev Tu-143

Development
Tu-141 with launcher

The Tu-141 was a follow-on to the Tupolev Tu-123 and was a relatively large, medium-range reconnaissance drone. It was designed to undertake reconnaissance missions several hundred kilometers behind the front lines at transonic speeds. It could carry a range of payloads, including film cameras, infrared imagers, EO imagers, and imaging radar.

As with previous Tupolev designs, it had a dart-like rear-mounted delta wing, forward-mounted canards, and a KR-17A turbojet engine mounted above the tail. It was launched from a trailer using a solid-propellant booster and landed with the aid of a tail-mounted parachute.

The Tu-141 was in Soviet service from 1979 to 1989, mostly on the western borders of the Soviet Union.

Combat usage

The Tu-141 was pressed back into service by the Ukrainian Air Force for the War in Donbass.[1][2]

Specifications

Data from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Directory: Part 2[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: none
  • Length: 14.33 m (47 ft 0.25 in)
  • Wingspan: 3.88 m (12 ft 8.5 in)
  • Height: 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 10.0 m2 (108 sq ft) [4]
  • Gross weight: 6,215 kg (13,702 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Tumansky KR-17A , 19.6 kN (4,409 lbf) thrust

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 1,100 km/h (683 mph, 594 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 1,000 km/h (620 mph, 540 kn)
  • Range: 1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)

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References
  1. "Ukraine Resurrects Soviet-Era Super Drones".
  2. https://theaviationist.com/2014/08/02/tu-143-in-field/
  3. Munson Air International August 1997, p. 101.
  4. Gordon and Rigmant 2005, p. 321.
  • Gordon, Yefim and Vladimir Rigmant. OKB Tupolev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2005. ISBN 978-1-85780-214-6.
  • Munson, Kenneth. "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Directory: Part 2". Air International, August 1997, Vol 53 No 2. pp. 100–108.

This article contains material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.

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