Valentin Bliznyuk

Valentin Ivanovich Bliznyuk (Russian: Валентин Иванович Близнюк; 12 April 1928 – 30 December 2019) was a Soviet and Russian aircraft designer who worked chiefly with the Tupolev design bureau over a career spanning almost seventy years.

Born in 1928, Bliznyuk entered the S. Ordzhonikidze Moscow Aviation Institute and was recruited to work at the Tupolev design bureau as a design engineer during his studies. His early work included several military designs, including the Tu-91 turboprop tactical strike aircraft, the Tu-95 and Tu-98 strategic bombers, the Tu-105 prototype for the Tu-22 supersonic long-range bomber, and the Tu-107. From the late 1950s Bliznyuk worked on designs for unmanned aerial vehicles for different purposes, and had a hand in the development of the Tu-121, Tu-123, Tu-141 and Tu-143 unmanned vehicles, as well as some more unconventional designs, the Tu-130 boost-glider and the proposed Tu-136 orbital manned spacecraft. By the 1960s he was working under the bureau's chief, Aleksey Tupolev, on the design for the Tu-144 supersonic passenger aircraft, and had the title of Deputy Chief Designer.

Using the expertise developed on the production of the Tu-144, Bliznyuk worked to develop the Tu-160, a supersonic bomber which incorporated a number of features developed and perfected on the Tu-144. Bliznyuk was appointed Chief Designer and head of the Tu-160 project in 1975, and shepherded the design through to its first test flight in 1981, and its acceptance into service with the Soviet Air Force in 1987. He continued to refine and develop the design for the rest of his career. Receiving a number of awards over his career, including the USSR State Prize, the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and the Order of the Badge of Honour, as well as the title of Honoured Aircraft Builder [ru], Bliznyuk remained with Tupolev until his death in 2019, serving as a consultant on the company's senior council. In 2006 the Military Council of 37th Air Army named one of their Tu-160 bombers "Valentin Bliznyuk", in honour of the plane's chief designer.