MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax) - The first thoroughly upgraded Tupolev Tu-160M strategic bomber has begun joint state trials, Rostec's press service said.
"Joint crews from the Russian Defense Ministry and the developer are conducting the trials," it said.
As Interfax reported earlier, in May 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Kazan Aviation Plant, a Tupolev branch which is part of Rostec's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), to resume production of Tu-160 White Swan strategic bombers. Serial production ceased in the 1990s.
The bombers, capable of delivering nuclear weapons, are built in the new configuration, Tu-160M. They have the same appearance as the standard Tu-160, but have much greater combat capabilities, owing to a broader range of weapons and new engines, the second series of the NK-32, which increases the flight range by 1,000 kilometers.
The contract for the first batch of 10 planes, each of which costs 15 billion rubles, was signed on January 25, 2018. The Russian Defense Ministry said it planned to order 50 bombers of this kind and to upgrade all 16 strategic bombers in operation to the Tu-160M level.
The first experimental Tu-160M, named in honor of Igor Sikorsky, was built on the basis of an operational aircraft and performed its inaugural flight on February 2, 2020. The first Tu-160M, built from the ground up, took off on January 12, 2022.
The Tu-160 is a supersonic variable-sweep wing strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Bureau in the 1970s and 1980s to strike strategic sites in the enemy's deep rear with nuclear and conventional weapons. It can carry 12 cruise missiles. All the weapons are installed inside the fuselage. Russia has dubbed the Tu-160 the White Swan for its grace. Its NATO code name is Blackjack.