The Soviet supersonic passenger Tu-144 became the technological predecessor for the Tu-160 strategic bomber. This was stated by Timerbulat Ziatdinov, leading engineer of the passenger liner museum in Kazan.
According to him, the Tu-144 is based on military technologies, beautifully "packaged" into civilian ones.
There is practically no steel, except for rivets. Titanium, aviation aluminum. For example, connecting frames are made of rolled titanium. We wanted to drill it with a special installation – it turned a diamond drill bit inside out.
Recently, Konstantin Timofeev, managing director of JSC "Tupolev", suggested that the Tu-144 could be put back into service. He believes that this would be an important step for supersonic aviation.
Nevertheless, there are also new developments in civilian supersonic aircraft. In the spring of 2026, GosNIIAS officially approved a new supersonic passenger aircraft without traditional frontal glazing. Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov explained to "Pervy Tekhnichesky" why this idea is utopian.
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