"It’s a highly upgraded plane based on the Tu-160 with new capabilities and functions. We do it two ways: we upgrade the existing fleet of Tu-160 planes and in parallel, we have set up production in Kazan and are delivering the first production standard Tu-160M this year that will be added to the fleet of long-range aircraft," he said on Rossiya-1 television.
Slyusar told TASS in August that the plans to deliver the first newly-built Tu-160M to the Defense Ministry remained in place. The plane took to the skies for the first time on January 12, 2021, taking off from an airfield of a plane manufacturing plant in Kazan. The flight was executed at an altitude of 600 meters and lasted about 30 minutes.
The Tu-160M (codenamed Blackjack by NATO) is an upgraded version of the Soviet-designed Tu-160, dubbed the White Swan. Along with the Tu-95MS, it’s the backbone of the Russian fleet of long-range military aircraft. The TU-160 is the largest ever supersonic military aircraft and the world’s heaviest warplane, capable of carrying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. It’s the answer to the US long-range bomber Rockwell B-1 Lancer.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in 2015 ordered that Tu-160 production be resumed and that the aircraft be upgraded.
MNA/PR