The Sukhoi T-4, also known as "Aircraft 100", "Project 100", or "Sotka" is a Soviet high-speed reconnaissance, anti-ship and strategic bomber aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes called the Su-100.

Design and development

In 1963, the Soviet government held a request for proposal among the aircraft design bureaus. The Sukhoi design, with its high cruise speed of was favored over the designs submitted by Yakovlev and Tupolev and after a preliminary design review in June 1964, the building of a prototype was authorized.

Development of the T-4 required massive research efforts to develop the technologies necessary, including the manufacturing technologies to machine and weld the materials necessary to withstand sustained Mach 3 flight. Nearly 600 patents or inventions are attributed to the program.

The first flying prototype was finally completed in the autumn of 1971. Work continued on an additional three airframes (one for static testing) through 1975. In 1974, the Ministry of Aviation Industry (Soviet Union) ordered work suspended on the T-4 project, which was officially scrapped on 19 December 1975.

The aircraft's droop nose lowered to provide visibility during takeoff and landing. A periscope was used for forward viewing when the nose was retracted, and could be employed at speeds of up to . Drogue parachutes were used in addition to conventional wheel brakes.-->

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See also

References

  • Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka" at the Russian Air Force Museum
  • Sukhoi Company website