Moscow. March 10. INTERFAX-AVN-The first deeply modernized strategic missile carrier-bomber Tu-160M with NK-32 engines of the second series is entering a new stage of testing, the press service of Rostec reports.
"The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) of the state Corporation Rostec has handed over for preliminary testing the first upgraded Tu-160M missile carrier with new NK-32 series 02 engines (produced by the United Engine Corporation, UEC), "the press service said on Wednesday.
"The aircraft has successfully passed the factory tests. Today, the new missile carrier was transferred to the flight test base of PJSC Tupolev to prepare for the next stage of flights - preliminary tests," Rostec said.
The state corporation noted that the plane has already been relocated from the Kazan Aircraft Factory to the airfield in Zhukovsky. The flight under the guidance of test pilot Henri Naskidyants " was carried out in normal mode, the systems and equipment worked without comments."
As reported by Interfax, the Kazan Aircraft Factory (a branch of Tupolev, part of the UAC), after a 10-year break, is restoring the production of strategic missile carriers-Tu-160 "White Swan" bombers, which are the air component of the nuclear triad.
It was noted that the appearance of the new aircraft will not differ from the basic Tu-160, but at the same time its combat capabilities will significantly increase, including by expanding the range of weapons. In addition, a new series of NK-32 engines is being made for this machine, which will increase the flight range of the strategists by 1 thousand km.
On January 25, 2018, a state contract was signed between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Tupolev company for the supply of the first batch of Tu-160M strategists - it provides for the creation of 10 aircraft worth 15 billion rubles each. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced plans to order 50 such vehicles.
The first prototype Tu-160M "Igor Sikorsky", created on the basis of a combat aircraft, took off on February 2, 2020.
Currently, there are 16 Tu-160 aircraft in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). According to the plans of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, all of them will undergo a deep modernization in the form of the Tu-160M.
The Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic missile-bomber with a variable wing sweep, developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1970s and 1980s. It is designed to destroy the most important objects in the deep rear of the enemy with nuclear and conventional weapons. It is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles on board, all weapons are placed inside the fuselage. In Russia, the Tu-160 is called the "White Swan" for its grace, according to the NATO codification-Blackjack ("Blackjack").
