Tupolev Tu-95LAL

During the Cold War the USSR had an experimental nuclear aircraft program. Without the need to refuel, a nuclear-powered aircraft would have greatly extended range compared to conventional designs. On 12 August 1955 the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a directive ordering bomber-related design bureaus to join forces in researching nuclear aircraft. The design bureaus of Andrei Tupolev and Vladimir Myasishchev became the chief design teams, while N. D. Kuznetsov and A. M. Lyulka were assigned to develop the engines. They chose to focus on the direct-cycle system from the start, testing ramjets, jet engines and even turboprops. The VVRL-lOO reactor was fitted in the bomb bay of the aircraft, requiring aerodynamic fairings over the top and bottom. From 1961 to 1969, the Tu-95LAL completed over 40 research flights. Most of these were made with the reactor shut down. As in the US, development was curtailed on grounds of cost and environmental concerns. ==Tu-119==

The next stage in the development of a nuclear-powered bomber would have been the Tupolev Tu-119, a modified Tu-95, which would have been powered by two kerosene-fed Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops outboard and two Kuznetsov NK-14A nuclear-fuelled engines inboard, fed with heat from the fuselage-mounted reactor. The project was cancelled in its early stages, as the whole concept of nuclear airplane propulsion was evaluated as too expensive and environmentally dangerous. == Specifications (Tu-95LAL) ==

Note: the specifications given are those of the Tu-95MS, which were identical to the Tu-95LAL. == See also ==