The Russian defense Ministry plans to start state tests of the upgraded Tu-160 strategic missile carrier in 2021. This was announced on Monday, December 21, by the head of the military Department Sergei Shoigu.
"In 2021, the Ministry of defense will have to solve a number of priority tasks. <...> Start state tests of the upgraded Tu-160 aircraft," Shoigu said at an expanded meeting of the Board of the Russian military Department.
In early November, the first flight of the deeply modernized Tu-160M bomber took place at the S. P. Gorbunov airfield.
In September, Russian supersonic strategic bombers Tu-160 conducted a record number of hours of non-stop flight for aircraft of this class, writes "<url>".
In March, the American military magazine The National Interest wrote that the Russian Tu-160 bomber is the fastest, largest and heaviest of all such aircraft in the world. It has no design flaws, except for one-it does not use stealth technology.
The Tu-160M is a highly modernised strategic missile carrier-bomber based on the combatant Tu-160.