Flying In Russian Tu-160M Nuclear Capable Bomber, President Putin Sends Signal To The West?

Russian President Vladimir Putin as he descended from the Tu-160M bomber. (Source: Kommersant/Dmitry Azarov)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin flew on a modernized Tu-160M nuclear-capable strategic bomber on Thursday, a move perhaps seen in the West as a reminder of Moscow's nuclear capabilities.

The plane, which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) calls Blackjack, is a modern version of a similar aircraft in the Cold War era, with the ability to deliver long-range nuclear weapons.

The 'White Angsa', Russia's version of the nickname, took off and landed on the runway owned by manufacturers in Kazan that makes modern supersonic aircraft. Government television shows President Putin descending the stairs from the plane after the flight, telling reporters the plane was a reliable and modern aircraft that the Russian Air Force could accept.

"This is a new machine, a lot of new things. It's easier to control. It's reliable," President Putin said.

The Russian leader made the flight at a time when Moscow and Western countries were at odds over the war in Ukraine, as well as the latest regarding the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in prison.

Long before, President Putin had flown the old version of the Tu-160 aircraft in 2005 during training.

Several Russian and US diplomats said they did not recall when the relationship between the world's two largest nuclear powers deteriorated, including the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the plane's flight path was a military secret. The flight carrying President Putin lasted 30 minutes, the Russian news agency reported.

It is known that the Tupolev Tu-160M bomber, manned by four people, is capable of carrying 12 short-range cruise missiles or 12 nuclear missiles and can fly as far as 12,000 km (7,500 miles) non-stop without refueling.

Russia's nuclear doctrine sets conditions under which a Russian president will consider the use of nuclear weapons: in general, in response to attacks that use nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or against the use of conventional weapons against Russia "when the state's existence is under threat".

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, has previously repeatedly warned of the risk of a nuclear conflict with the West since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine by 2022.

However, President Putin, who is the Commander of the Russian Armed Forces, said in October that Russia's existence was not threatened and that "no one with common sense and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia".

Under the contract signed in 2018, 10 modernized Tu-160M nuclear bombers will be delivered to the Russian Air Force by 2027 at a cost of 15 billion rubles each.