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Hi my dear friends, I am come back.

This time I also bring a question for you.

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The question is what is the monster in the photo?

Someone said it was an experimental plane base on Tu-16 and it was for tu144 SST.Isn't it?

Its red 57 a Tu -16 with the nose of the Myasishchev M-17 Mystic, the Soviet U-2. A aircraft orginally conceived as a high altitude fighter for intercepting aerostats. Somewhat late in development since the ballon threat had largely gone when it was developed in the 70's.The last reconnicssance ballon flight by the west (CIA or USAF) was undertaken in 1977. Its interesting to note that the wing profile was reproduced from the wrekcage of Gary Powers U-2 but refined for its more fighter like flightprofile. The aperture you can see on the Badgers nose is electro optical finders tracking the balloon. A balloon with a diameter of 30 m was trackable at a distance of 30-40 km. As the A 17 was not very manuverable at high altitude a moveable turret was installed with special procjtiles with very sensitive fuses that would be activated on contact with the ballons skin, piercing a hole measuring several square meteres. A target flying up to 4000 m higher than the Mystic could be shot down by slaving the gun vertically. Later the M-17 was developed into the Stratosfera, to monitor the earths ozone layer and as a "reconnaissance and strike complex" as the twin engined M-55, much in the same way as TR-1A.

Edited by Capricorn
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Later the M-17 was developed into the Stratosfera, to monitor the earths ozone layer

One of these operated a couple of years ago from Forlì airport (Italy) while doing a series of environmental monitor flights and got a quite good media coverage (I should have a couple of pictures somewhere...)

Yuri

BTW, wasn't his name "Geophisika" or something like that?

Edited by Yuri
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One of these operated a couple of years ago from Forlì airport (Italy) while doing a series of environmental monitor flights and got a quite good media coverage (I should have a couple of pictures somewhere...)

Yuri

BTW, wasn't his name "Geophisika" or something like that?

You are right about the the Geofizika but it was a version of the Stratosfera. It had a more diversified payload including SLAR, optical cameras, Argos optical scanners, a infra-red scanner and Radius scanning radiometer. It was offered to Chile (2-3 a/c) for charting Antartica including the ozone layer, but they turned it down. But I think it participated in various programmes connected to the International Geophysic Year in 2000 and somewhat later in Russian led scientific programmes in the high north.

Edited by Capricorn
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Capricorn has given an excellent potted history of the Myasischev M-17/M-55 - from its early design as a balloon-busting high-altitude interceptor, to a reconnaissance platform (M-17) to its final form as an earth-resources camera and sensor carrying asset as the M-55.

The M-17 'Straotosfera' was single-engined version - and now resides at the VVS museum of Monino...

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The much more capable, twin-engined, M-55 'Geofisika' is still available for hire as a sensor platform - it was at MAKS 05 last August.

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Ken

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