Russia's Tu-160M Long-Range Strategic Bomber Officially In The Air, Carrying Nuclear And Conventional Weapons

Illustration of the Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru/Ministry of Defense/Vadim Savitsky)

JAKARTA - A completely new Tupolev Tu-160M ​​strategic missile-carrying bomber, nicknamed 'White Swan' by Russian military pilots made its debut flight, the press office of state technology company Rostec announced on Wednesday.

"On January 12, the first newly built Tu-160M ​​strategic missile-carrying bomber made its debut flight from the aerodrome of Kazan Aviation Enterprise, a subsidiary of Tupolev (part of the United Aircraft Corporation at Rostec)," the Press office quoted TASS as saying January 12.

The newly built strategic bomber made its flight at an altitude of 600 meters and lasted about 30 minutes. The crew of the test pilots of the Tupolev Company carried out a maneuver that made it possible to check the aircraft's stable and controlled operation in the air, the press office said.

United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) CEO Yury Slyusar said 80 percent of Russia's newly-built Tu-160M ​​strategic missile-carrying bomber equipment has been modernized with the latest technology.

"The new plane has 80 percent of its systems and equipment modernized," said Slyusar.

Meanwhile, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said the Tupolev Tu-160 strategic missile-carrying bomber could eventually carry new weapons, including breakthrough weapons.

"Today we see considerable prospects for the Tu-160 platform. Further development will make it possible to use it as a new weapon, including breakthroughs," he said.

The Tu-160, in the NATO reporting name Blackjack, was a bomber carrying the Soviet Union and Russia's supersonic variable-wing strategic missiles. Together with the Tu-95MS bomber, it is the mainstay of the Russian Air Force's long-range aviation.

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

Russia reportedly made the decision to resume production of an upgraded version of the Tu-160 bomber in 2015. In early November 2020, an upgraded Tu-160M ​​strategic missile-carrying bomber with the new engine NK-32-02 made its debut flight from the Kazan aerodrome Aviation Enterprise.

As the United Aircraft Corporation reports, during the bomber's flight, specialists tested the general aircraft systems and onboard radio-electronic equipment installed in the upgrade framework and checked the operation of the new NK-32-02 engine.

To note, In 2020 the Tu-160M ​​bomber was listed among the most significant military aircraft achievements in the world by the US-based Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.