Sukhoi T-4

Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high speed reconnaissance, anti-ship and strategic bomber aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes incorrectly named Su-100 which is actually a WW2 era tank-destroyer. Despite design similarities the Sukhoi T-4 was not intended as a Soviet equivalent of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber, but was rather intended to take advan... more

Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high speed reconnaissance, anti-ship and strategic bomber aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes incorrectly named Su-100 which is actually a WW2 era tank-destroyer. Despite design similarities the Sukhoi T-4 was not intended as a Soviet equivalent of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber, but was rather intended to take advantage of many of the XB-70's aeronautic innovations to develop a smaller reconnaissance and anti-carrier aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3. It participated in a Soviet competition to develop a bomber as described above. It lost to the Myasishchev, and ultimately the Tupolev design which now exists as the Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack." The T-4 was made largely from titanium and stainless steel, and featured a fly-by-wire control system but also employed a mechanical system as a backup. The aircraft's nose lowered to provide visibility during... less