As part of the program for the construction of seaplanes for the needs of the Soviet Navy, adopted in 1923-25, the requirements for a long-range sea scout, the so-called "open sea scout", were described. According to these requirements, the TsAGI aviation Department under the leadership of A. N. Tupolev began work on the MDR-2 project.
The MDR-2 seaplane was an all-metal high-altitude flying boat with two floats. 2 × BMW VI engines with pusher propellers were mounted above the wing. Maximum speed-186 km / h, flight range — 1062 km. The crew consisted of 5 people. Armament — 5 × 7.62 mm DA machine guns + up to 900 kg of bombs.
Although the boat showed good flight characteristics for testing, it was not put into mass production. The reasons are the long development period and the appearance of a new, more promising, seaplane MDR-3. In 1932, the project was curtailed, having managed to build only 1 prototype of the MDR-2.
