How reported On November 3, 2020, PJSC United aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC), at the airfield of the Kazan aviation plant named after S. p. Gorbunov - a branch of PJSC Tupolev (part of PJSC UAC of rostec state Corporation), the first flight of a deep-moderated Tu-160M bomber with new serial engines NK-32-02 took place. The plane was piloted by a crew under the supervision of Henri Accidence. The flight took place at an altitude of 6000 meters and lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes.
One of the four first manufactured NK-32 engines of the 02 series of the installation batch in the workshop of PJSC Kuznetsov (Samara), 14.03.2018 (C) Sergey Mamontov / RIA Novosti
During the flight, the necessary checks were carried out on the updated all-aircraft systems and avionics installed as part of a deep modernization of the aircraft, as well as the performance of the new NK-32 02 series engine, developed and manufactured by the United engine Corporation (part of the rostec state Corporation). According to the crew, the flight took place in normal mode, the systems and equipment worked without comments.
The Tu-160M is a highly modernised strategic missile carrier-bomber. The first prototype Tu-160M was created as part of a large-scale program of modernization of strategic and long-range combat aviation complexes, which is currently being implemented by PJSC Tupolev.
bmpd Comment. Thus, the first prototype of the upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber (converted from a combat bomber with the serial number 4-05 and the name "Igor Sikorsky", which previously had the tail number "14" and registration number RF-94103), which made its first flight after the conversion to KAZ on February 2, 2020, is now equipped for testing with new NK-32 engines of the 02 series (NK-32-02).
The NK-32-02 engine is an upgraded version of the standard NK-32 engine for the Tu-160, and is developed and manufactured by Samara PJSC Kuznetsov (part of PJSC United engine Corporation of rostec state Corporation). NC-32-02 is for the replacement of engines NK-32 for the modernized version of the Tu-160M combatant Tu-160 bombers (it is planned to upgrade 15 planes), and must be installed on the Tu-160M2 new production (a total of 10 contracted aircraft, the first flight is expected to head KAZ in 2021).
It is officially stated that the NK-32 engine of the 02 series has significantly improved characteristics compared to the NK-32, which will allow the Tu-160M/M2 aircraft to increase the flight range by 1000 km.
Serial production of NK-32 engines was carried out from 1983 to 1993 at Kuibyshev (Samara) NPP "Work" (now JSC "Kuznetsov"). Since 2013, PJSC "Kuznetsov" has been working to resume production of the NK-32 in the modernized form of the "second series". Under the first contract of 2016, PJSC Kuznetsov was to deliver the first four NK-32-02 engines of the installation batch by the end of 2018, which, however, were actually accepted only in August 2020 and are now installed on the Tu-160M prototype. In 2018, PJSC Kuznetsov received a State contract for the manufacture of 22 more NK-32-02 engines (presumably for the first four serially upgraded Tu-160M and the new-built Tu-160M2 head model, plus two spare ones).
