New Missiles…New Variants
The advent of the AS-5 Kelt missile meant more adaptation by the Badgers. The airframe required modification to carry the Kelt. So too did the radar installation. Improved autopilots and electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment were also installed aboard the missile carriers. When the Soviets added the AS-6 Kingfish missile during the late 1960s, they had a truly formidable weapon to hang from the Badger. Usually, only one Kingfish was carried, but with Mach 3 speed and on-board guidance, one might have seemed like enough.
Kingfish, Kippers, and Kelts
The pattern continued through the addition of the AS-2 Kipper missile. Previous Badger missile carriers had typically retained their ability to drop bombs, but the Kipper was carried recessed ventrally and extended from its carriage position for launch. An even larger nose radome was added to Badgers carrying the Kipper. It is supposedly claimed that the new radome improves aerodynamics. In any case, the ultimate Badger missileer was likely the Badger-C, which could carry a Kipper and two Kelts. The Badger-Cs were kept up to date with the latest equipment and electronics, allowing them to launch the various versions of the air-to-surface weapons as they evolved.
Test Gone Nearly Wrong
Badgers, and the missiles they brought to the fight, were always a concern for American aircraft carriers. Luckily, we never found out just how effective the aircraft-missile combinations were because they were never used against a carrier battle group. In 1964, the Soviets were conducting a live missile shoot in the North Pacific. A Japanese merchant ship wandered into the test area. Only a range safety mechanism kept the Sine Maru from being the recipient of a Kelt missile. The weapon detonated a couple of hundred yards from the vessel, spraying it with shrapnel and wounding a crew member.
Chinese Copies and Other Operators
The Chinese began building Badgers of their own in the late 1950s. They still operate about 120 of them under the designation H-6 today. On 14 May 1965, one of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6 bombers dropped the first airborne nuclear weapon test inside China. Current and former Badger operators include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, People’s Republic of China, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, Soviet Union, and Ukraine. The former Soviet states retired their last Badgers in 1993.
Six Things You Might Not Know About the Mighty Tupelov Tu-16 Badger: Comrade.
1- The designation Tu-16S was given to a version of the Badger that was outfitted with an air-droppable lifeboat to be used for search and rescue operations, similar to the American search and rescue SB-17 Flying Fortress and SB-29 Superfortress search and rescue bombers.
2- Fuel for the various Soviet missiles carried by the Badger was often topped off using the fuel carried in the Badger. This arrangement was risky, but the Soviets made it work.
3- The Soviets first overflew an American aircraft carrier in September of 1962. What is not commonly known is that this overflight was also intercepted, and electronic intelligence about the Tu-16 radar and communications systems was gathered by an EA-3B Skywarrior electronic warfare aircraft. The electronic intelligence gathered helped create effective ECM systems to be used against the Badger and other Soviet threats.
4- An aggressive overflight program began in 1963, intended to demonstrate that American and NATO aircraft carriers could be attacked by missile-toting Badgers (and Bears) pretty much anywhere. Between 27 January and 27 February 1963, Soviet Badgers and Bears overflew the aircraft carriers Constellation (CVA-64) and Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in the Pacific and the Enterprise (CVN-65) and Forrestal (CVA-59) in the Atlantic. These overflights were considered a risk to the carriers and for that reason…
5- Many of the photographs of airborne Badgers also depict an American aircraft escorting the Soviet aircraft. F-8 Crusaders, F-4 Phantoms, F-14 Tomcats, F/A-18 Hornets…even A-4 Skyhawks and A-6 Intruders would join on the Badgers as far as possible from the carriers just to let them know they cared. Of course, the Soviets would try to determine the reaction times of their American opponents, which was difficult when they were usually intercepted in the outer air defense perimeter as far from the carriers as possible.
6- Escorting American aircraft were tasked with photographing the Badgers to determine the latest configuration changes. But flying in close formation with the Soviets occasionally produced humorous moments. Russian-speaking American aircrews sometimes traded notes with the tail gunner or radio operator. Legendary stories involving Playboy centerfolds being displayed by American aircrews for the Soviets and the Soviets raising vodka toasts to the Americans. It was deadly business, but every now and then, a little levity would break the Cold War ice.
BONUS VIDEO
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