Tu-160 (bomber)

2023: State tests involving the MoD

The first experimental modernized strategic missile carrier Tu-160M, developed by PJSC Tupolev of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has begun to implement a program of state joint tests. The press service of Rostec (UAC is part of this state corporation) announced this on July 6, 2023.

State tests of the world's heaviest combat aircraft are carried out by the crews of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the developer. As stated in Rostec, the Tu-160M aircraft is equipped with modern weapons, an electronic warfare complex, as well as airborne electronic equipment developed using advanced technologies in the field of instrumentation.

Tu-160M

As a result of the modernization of the Tu-160, the range of the bomber increased by about 1000 kilometers. The Tu-160M configuration includes a new Novella radar, as well as a new self-defense complex and electronic surveillance system. The aircraft is also equipped with a "glass cockpit" and an updated set of communication and navigation equipment.

A feature of the modernized models of aviation equipment is the installation of new electronic warfare systems, modern navigation systems, equipping with new weapons, new avionics, as well as the installation of the latest information display tools on the crew dashboards, - said the commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash.

The first experimental Tu-160M was created as part of a large-scale program for the modernization of long-range aviation combat complexes, which is carried out by Tupolev. According to the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, the Tu-160M missile carrier can become a carrier of new types of weapons, including promising ones

2022: Bomber flight

On January 12, 2022, the first bomber built in Russia in the post-Soviet time "from scratch" took off. We are talking about the Tu-160M model developed by the Kazan Aviation Plant - a branch of the Tupolev company (as part of the UAC of the Rostec state corporation).

According to the press service of Rostec, the flight of the strategic missile carrier took place at an altitude of 600 m and lasted about 30 minutes. The crew of test pilots of PJSC Tupolev performed maneuvers to check the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air.

The first Tu-160 bomber built in the post-Soviet time "from scratch" took off

The Tu-160 reproduction program in the modernized appearance of the Tu-160M was launched by decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the process, experts completely digitized the design documentation, restored the technology of vacuum welding of titanium products, resumed the production of glider units.

Tu-160 is one of the largest and most high-tech projects in the aviation industry, says UAC General Director Yuri Slyusar. - The implementation of this program required not only updating production facilities, but also creating a fundamentally new digital environment for work on the project. The fundamental importance of today's event is that the new machine is completely rebuilt, from scratch.

According to him, the new machine has 80% updated and modernized systems and equipment. As the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov explained, the full production cycle of the Tu-160 was restored, but already using modernized engines, navigation control systems and weapons.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that two modernized Tu-160M strategic missile carriers will enter Russian long-range aviation in 2022. They will be equipped with new electronic warfare systems (electronic warfare), new weapons, new avionics, as well as the installation of the latest information display tools on the crew dashboards.^[1]

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