In the early 1960s, the USSR began to think about creating a super-high-speed heavy bomber. Its targets were to be aircraft carriers of a likely enemy (read-the United States). The Sukhoi Design Bureau also submitted its T-4 project to the competition announced in 1961.
It was a low-winged tailless plane with a triangular wing, a front horizontal tail and a deflected nose. It was equipped with 4 × RD36-41 engines with a thrust of 158 kN. The maximum speed (estimated) is 3200 km / h, the flight range is 7000 km. The planned armament is 2 × X-45 hypersonic anti-ship missiles.
First flight was at 22 August 1972. Tests have shown that the characteristics of the T-4 correspond to the calculated ones. A batch of 250 aircraft was even ordered. But mass production has not begun. In 1974, the project was stopped. The exact reason is unknown — perhaps the Sukhoi Design Bureau was loaded with the Su-27 project or the T-4 was considered unpromising.
