The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO code name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service With the Soviet military in the 1960s, and the last examples were retired during the 1990s.
Developed in the 1950's, the Tu-22 was the successor to the Tu-16 high-altitude medium bomber. Carrying a similar payload at a slightly greater range, the Tu-22 offered no real increase in capability, although it was reportedly designed for KGB controlled high altitude reconnaissance missions as well as bombing. having a high accident rate, even by Soviet standards, and poor reliability, the Tu-22 was not a success and just about 200 were built, not enough to replace the Tu-16s Which were kept in service well into the 1970s.
