MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers are superior to planes of the United States and other NATO countries, according to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
"The amateurish comments made by representatives of the U.S. Department of State on the Tu-160 strategic bombers against the backdrop of the silence of Pentagon professionals do not surprise the Russian Defense Ministry," Konashenkov said, referring to the statement by the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, who described the Tu-160 bombers visiting Venezuela as "museum pieces."
"I'd like to remind U.S. diplomats that Russia's Tu-160 strategic bombers have had no comparable analogues in the United States or any other NATO member state in terms of speed, combat payload, range, and resilience to all air defense systems since the day they were designed," Konashenkov said.
The competitive edge of these strategic bombers has been sharpened through their modernization to the Tu-160M2 level, he said.
"The Tu-160 strategic bomber can be compared to 'museum pieces' only in admiration of this engineering masterpiece of domestic aircraft builders, which is envied by Russia's ill-wishers," Konashenkov said.
According to the media, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Kevin Whitaker described the Tu-160 planes visiting Venezuela as "museum pieces" and said that planes of such age could not be a provocation.
Two Tu-160 bombers, an Antonov An-124 heavy-haul military transport plane, and an Ilyushin Il-62 long-range plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces landed at the Caracas Maiquetia International Airport.
The Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic bomber with variable-sweep wings designed by Tupolev in the 1970s-1980s to strike strategic targets deep in the enemy rear with conventional and nuclear weapons. Russia calls it White Swan, while its NATO code name is Blackjack.
Tupolev, an affiliate of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), is designing prototypes of the latest Tu-160 modification, Tu-160M2. It has been noted that the plane will look like the Tu-160 but that its combat capacities will increase significantly, including through an expanded range of weapons. The aircraft will also have a new engine, the NK-32, which will increase its range by 1,000 kilometers.