A MODIFIED TUPOLEV Tu-144 supersonic transport which will serve as the platform for a six-month, high-speed experimental research programme was expected to be rolled-out at Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow, Russia, on 17 March, signaling the start of a co-operative US-Russian flight-test programme.
The aircraft, Tu-144LL, will carry NASA-sponsored experiments as part of the US agency's High-Speed Research (HSR) programme. Also participating in the project are Russia's Tupolev design bureau and a US industry team, led by Boeing and including General Electric, McDonnell Douglas, Pratt & Whitney and Rockwell.
The first flight of the modified aircraft is scheduled in the next few weeks. The Tu-144 has not flown since the early 1980s.
Source: Flight International
