MOSCOW – A newly built Tupolev Tu-160 long-range heavy strategic bomber –the first one since 1992 – was rolled out of the hangar as Russia resumesproduction of the world’s largest operational bomber that NATO designatesas Blackjack.
The new Tu-160, which is nicknamed White Swan in Russia, was revealed atthe Kazan Aviation Factory, a branch of Moscow-based Tupolev Design Bureau,on Thursday. The aircraft was built, using parts stored since Soviet times,to establish if the factory was capable of resuming serial production ofthe legendary bombers.
The bomber will now undergo testing on the ground, before taking to theskies in February 2018. The serial production of Tu-160s, which remainedstalled since 1992, will resume after the aircraft proves that it matchesthe assigned criteria, Major-General Sergey Kobylash, the chief of Russia’sLong-Range Aviation, told RIA-Novosti.
Russia’s military announced the decision to resume production of theTu-160s in modernized Tu-160M2 variation back in 2015. The serialproduction of the bombers is likely to begin in early 2020s, with theDefense Ministry planning to purchase at least 50 aircraft. The modernizedplanes will get new improved engines, also seeing analog onboard equipmentreplaced with digital hardware.
“All the Tu-160 planes currently in service with the Russian Air Force willbe fully modernized. Taking into account the pace of reproduction and thelevel of modern technology, I assume that it’s going to happen in thecoming years,” Kobylash said.
Blackjack is largest combat aircraft in the world, with maximum takeoffweight of about 275 tons. It can cover a distance of more than 12,000kilometers without refueling. The record distance it covered during oneflight was 18,000 kilometers, spending more than 24 hours in the air. Thebomber is equipped with variable-sweep wings, which it wedges against thefuselage when switching to supersonic speed.
The Tu-160 and other long-range aircraft resumed patrol flights over thePacific and Atlantic in 2007. The bombers also proved their effectivenessduring Russia’s air campaign in Syria as they took off from airfields inRussia to strike terrorist targets.