Russia Will Receive Tupolev New Tu-160M Bombers At The End Of This Year, Able To Bring Missiles Upstream Nuclear Leaks

JAKARTA - The first newly built Tupolev Tu-160M strategic missile-carrying bomber will be delivered before the end of this year, United Aircraft Corporation chief Yury Slyusar said on Friday.

"This is a very improved aircraft based on Tu-160 with new capabilities and functions. We are doing it in two ways: we are upgrading the existing Tu-160 aircraft fleet and in parallel we have prepared production in Kazan and sent the first production of Tu-160M this year to join a fleet of long-range aircraft," he said on television Rossiya-1., launching TASS December 24.

Earlier Slyusar told TASS in August the plan to send the first newly built Tu-160M to the Ministry of Defense remained.

The plane took off for the first time on January 12, 2021, taking off from the aircraft manufacturing plant airport in Kazan. The flight was carried out at an altitude of 600 meters and lasted about 30 minutes.

The Tu-160M (Blackjack codename by NATO) is an upgraded version of the Soviet-designed Tu-160, dubbed the White Swan. Together with the Tu-95MS, these two aircraft are the backbone of a fleet of Russian long-range military aircraft.

The Tu-160 is the largest supersonic military aircraft and the world's toughest warplane, capable of carrying nuclear-leading cruise missiles. This aircraft is the answer to the US long-range bomber Rockwell B-1 Lancer.

The Tu-160M strategic bomber is designed to strike enemy targets in remote areas with nuclear and conventional weapons. No wonder the Tu-160M strategic bomber is the heaviest supersonic military aircraft in the world to date.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in 2015 ordered that the production of Tu-160 be continued and the aircraft be upgraded.

In early November 2020, an upgraded Tu-160M strategic missile-carrying bomber with a new engine NK-32-02 made its debut flight from the Kazan Aviation Enterprise aerodrome.