An effective mixture consisting of 40% pure ethyl alcohol was devised for the cooling system of the Tu-22 bomber. This was stated by engineer and physicist Nathan Eismont.
According to him, the cooling system was surprisingly simple. Americans succinctly nicknamed the combat aircraft: Blinder – “booze-up”.
And all because it had a simple and effective alcohol-based cooling system. It was used as a coolant for the evaporative cooling system. The mixture consisted of 60% distilled water and 40% pure ethyl alcohol. That is, in essence, it was no different from ordinary Soviet vodka.
According to open sources, the Russian Aerospace Forces have several dozens of combat-ready Tu-22M3s.
Usually, foreign experts estimate the fleet at approximately 55–60 aircraft of various modifications, but official information is classified.