Tupolev Tu-143
Encyclopedia
The Tupolev
Tu-143 Reys (Flight or Trip) was a Soviet reconnaissance
drone
in service with the Soviet Red Army and with a number of its Warsaw Pact
and Middle East allies during the late 1970s and 1980s.
, 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 RATO 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
.
: (Retired from service)
: Korean People's Air Force
: VR-3 Rejs, retired in 1995
: VR-3 Rejs, retired
: retired
: VR-3 was in service from 1985, passed to Czech Republic and Slovakia
: Passed to Russia and Ukraine on dissolution of the USSR
Tupolev
Tupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...
Tu-143 Reys (Flight or Trip) was a Soviet reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
drone
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
in service with the Soviet Red Army and with a number of its Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
and Middle East allies during the late 1970s and 1980s.
Development
The Tu-143 was introduced in 1976 and strongly resembled the Tu-141Tupolev Tu-141
-References:* 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....
, 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 RATO 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
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in reconnaissance missions over Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
during the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, as well as by Soviet forces in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
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.Operators
:: (Retired from service)
: Korean People's Air Force
: VR-3 Rejs, retired in 1995
: VR-3 Rejs, retired
: retired
: VR-3 was in service from 1985, passed to Czech Republic and Slovakia
: Passed to Russia and Ukraine on dissolution of the USSR
Specifications
Tupolev TU-143 Reys:- wingspan 2.24 m (7 ft 4 in)
- length 8.06 m (26 ft 5 in)
- height 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in)
- launch weight 1,230 kg (2,710 lb)
- maximum speed 950 km/h (515 kn, 590 mph)
- service ceiling 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
- range 200 km (110 nmi, 125 mi)
External links
- Czech Tu-143/VR-3 Rejs in museum with transport vehicle and launcher