Trumpeter 1/72 Russia Tu-16K-26 Badger Airplane H-6 Model Kit - 01612

The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO code: Badger) was a Soviet all-metal mid-wing jet bomber. The propulsion was provided by two AM-03 turbojet engines. The flight of the prototype took place in 1952, and serial production continued in the USSR from 1954 to 1962. On the other hand, license production in China lasted from 1961 to 1987. In the PRC, the Tu-16 was known as Xian H-6. In total, more than 1,500 Tu-16s were produced. Plane turned out to be a very successful design and several of its development versions were created: the Tu-16A, which was capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Tu-16T, which was a long-range torpedo-bomber, or the Tu-16R, which was a reconnaissance version of the aircraft. The only military conflict in which the Tu-16 took part was the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), where bomber versions of this aircraft were used for a short time. They first fulfilled such a mission in 1984, and the last time in 1988.