Moscow. September 21. INTERFAX-Fighters from Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and other foreign planes took to the air because of the flight of two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"At some stages of the route, the Russian strategic missile carriers were accompanied by F-16 fighters of the Italian and Danish Air Forces, F-18 of the Finnish Air Force, Saab JAS-39 Gripen of the Swedish Air Force and other foreign aircraft," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
According to the Russian military, two Tu-160s performed a planned flight over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.
"Long-range aviation crews regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean. All flights of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces are carried out in strict accordance with the international rules for the use of airspace," the Defense Ministry said.
The report notes that the duration of the flight of two Tu-160 was about 8 hours.
"The fighter escort was provided by the crews of Su-35S aircraft of the Air Force and Air Defense Association of the Western Military District and Su-27 naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet," the Defense Ministry said.
Italian fighters, as reported, are serving on a rotational basis at the NATO base in the Baltic States.
The Tu-160 is a supersonic strategic missile carrier-bomber with a variable wing sweep, developed at 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. In Russia, the Tu-160 is called the "White Swan" for its grace, according to the NATO codification - Blackjack.
As Interfax reported, the production of strategic missile carriers-Tu-160 bombers is being restored at the Kazan Aircraft Factory (a branch of Tupolev, UAC) after a 10-year break. Externally, the new aircraft will not differ from the basic Tu-160, but 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 ("United Engine Corporation", UEC).
In January 2018, a state contract was signed between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation 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 machines.
