KAZAN. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will not only preserve its strategic aviation, but will also modernize TU-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.
"All the 15 TU-160 missile-carrying bombers will be modernized so that they are able to carry new types of missiles with conventional and nuclear warheads," Air Force Commander-in- Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
For this purpose, the strategic bombers "will undergo repairs and full modernization, including of avionics, radioelectronic equipment and on-board armament," the commander said.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax- AVN that repairs and modernization of a Blackjack cost about RUB250m (USD8.02m).
"Another TU-160 strategic bomber will be commissioned by the Russian Air Force in late 2002 or early 2003," the spokesman said.
Russia built its first TU-160 missile carrier in the early 1980s. The plane has a speed is 2,000kmph and intercontinental range.
The bomber can carry 12 cruise missiles with nuclear or conventional warheads. They hit targets at distances over 3,000km without the carrier entering the zone of the enemy's air defense.