Tu-214R to be Delivered in 2013

摘要

The first of two Tupolev Tu-214R reconnaissance aircraft (RA-64511), derived from the Tu-214 twin-engine airliner, is currently undergoing flight testing and is scheduled for delivery to the Russian Air Force in 2013, with the second aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2014. The two Tu-214Rs were ordered by the Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye (GRU), the foreign military intelligence main directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Both aircraft had been intended for delivery originally in 2008, but RA-64511 only completed its maiden flight on December 9, 2009. The delay in construction led to litigation and a legal judgment of 180 million roubles ($5.5 million) in favour of the GRU. Built by the Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Manufacturing Conglomerate Joint-Stock Company (Gorbunov KAPO), the two Tu-214Rs were designed as specialised high-altitude stand-off intelligence collection platforms. Their sensors include active arrays that can either transmit to function as radars, or receive, acting as electronic support measures antennas.