Manufacturer: Tupolev

Model: Tu-150

Name: "Crossbow" (NATO codename)

Type: Supersonic airliner

Date: 1979

Status: Operational service

Country: Soviet Union

Service: Aeroflot

Designation: (Tu-150)

The Tupolev Tu-150 (NATO: "Crossbow") was developed alongside the Blackjack bomber and used the same general configuration and shape. It was devised as a medium range airliner for European destinations. The demise of the Soviet Union put an end to the program and only 5 examples were built and flown by Aeroflot.

The idea was to use the basic shape of the Tu-160 Blackjack and turn it into a supersonic airliner... The aircraft was much shortened and decorated in Aeroflot livery. The main hue was too reddish so I had to turn it into a bluer hue to match the background. The Crossbow, the flightline, the sky and the aircraft taking off are all from different photos.

• Nice airliner. Your Russian airliners are welcome, converting killers into useful tools connecting people... Thanks for this piece of dream. We Westerners shoud do the same, someday. (Tophe)
• I would love to fly in one of these  (Roddy1990)
• Must be Myapolev)) (Kostya)

A supersonic airliner of medium size would have been a grand idea but far from economical. After the failure of the Tu-144 from a commercial viewpoint, it is unlikely that Tupolev would have risked developing another supersonic type. Besides, flying an airliner to foreign destinations that shared the same technology as the country's most lethal bomber in service probably wouldn't have been such a good idea from a strategic viewpoint...