How an ageing Russian passenger jet became a key part of China’s military intelligence gathering
Tupolev’s Tu-154M has been plagued by fatal accidents over its four decades of operation, but a modified version still plays a vital role in the PLA’s operations
Earlier this month the People’s Liberation Army air force released a photo of the Tu-154M/D, a reconnaissance aircraft that was a modified version of a notorious Russian airliner, the Tupolev Tu-154M.
It said the aircraft had been taking part in long-distance drills exploring “routes and areas it has never flown before”.
However, for aviation enthusiasts the photograph may evoke vivid memories of the Tu-154M aircraft, which has been plagued by frequent crashes and accidents that have claimed more than 2,000 lives over the past decade.
Last December, Russia grounded all its remaining Tu-154Ms after a military plane crashed soon after take-off from Sochi on the Black Sea. All 92 people on board were killed, included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir.
The Tu-154M was once the key civilian passenger plane on mainland China during the early stages of the drive to open up to the rest of the world that started in the 1980s.
However, the planes were involved in two serious crashes – one in 1994 and another in 1999 – that killed 224 people in total.