As reported on December 19, 2022, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC), in December 2022, the next improved strategic missile carrier Tu-160M, developed by PJSC Tupolev (as part of PJSC UAC of Rostec State Corporation), made its first flight.
The third upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber at the S.P. Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ), a branch of PJSC Tupolev. Kazan, December 2022 (c) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation"The press release says that the pilots performed maneuvers to check the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air, the operability of aircraft systems and engines, as well as avionics.
From the bmpd side, we will point out that, apparently, in this way, the third sample of the Tu-160M upgraded to the level of the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gobunov - a branch of PJSC Tupolev in Kazan of the Tu-160 strategic bomber made its first flight. The aircraft number is still unknown.
Earlier, the first prototype of the upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber was converted from a combat bomber with serial number 4-05 and the name "Igor Sikorsky", which previously had the tail number "14" and registration number RF-94103. The aircraft made its first flight after the completion of the conversion at the Kazan Aviation Plant on February 2, 2020. Then, new NK-32 02 series engines (NK-32-02) were installed on the aircraft for testing, the first flight with which was made at KAZ airfield on November 3, 2020. After the completion of the flight test phase, this aircraft flew from Kazan to the flight testing and finishing base of PJSC Tupolev to Zhukovsky on March 10, 2021 to continue testing.
The second aircraft upgraded to the level of the Tu-160M, apparently, was a bomber with the serial number 2-02 and the name "Valentin Bliznyuk" (previously had the tail number "19" and registration number RF-94113). This aircraft with the new registration number RF-94444, immediately equipped with new NK-32 engines of the 02 series (NK-32-02), began flight tests in September 2021.
The NK-32-02 engine is an upgraded version of the NK-32 engine, which is standard for the Tu-160, and is developed and manufactured by Samara PJSC Kuznetsov (part of PJSC United Engine Corporation of Rostec State Corporation). The NK-32-02 is supposed to replace the NK-32 engines on Tu-160 combat bombers upgraded to the Tu-160M variant (15 aircraft are supposed to be upgraded in total), and should also be installed on Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers of new production (10 aircraft in total have been contracted).
Serial production of NK-32 engines was carried out from 1983 to 1993 at Kuibyshev (Samara) NPP "Trud" (now PJSC "UEC-Kuznetsov" as part of PJSC "United Engine Corporation" - UEC). Since 2013, PJSC "UEC-Kuznetsov" has been working on the resumption of production of the NK-32 in the modernized appearance of the "second series". According to the first contract of 2016, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov was to deliver by the end of 2018 the first four NK-32-02 engines of the installation batch, which, in fact, however, were accepted only in August 2020 and then installed on the first upgraded Tu-160M prototype. In 2018, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov received a State contract for the manufacture of 22 more NK-32-02 engines (presumably for three upgraded Tu-160M and the first two Tu-160M2 of new construction, plus two spare ones). On August 24, 2021, during the seventh International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2021", the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a new contract with the UEC for the supply of eight additional NK-32-02 engines by 2024. In August 2022, PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov announced that by this time it had already delivered 20 NK-32-02 engines in total.
On January 25, 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed a contract worth 160 billion rubles with PJSC Tupolev in Kazan for the construction of ten new Tu-160M (Tu-160M2) bombers by 2027. The first of them made its first flight at the KAZ airfield on January 12, 2022 and is being used for testing.
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The third upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber at the S.P. Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ), a branch of PJSC Tupolev. Kazan, December 2022 (c) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation"Video (from) PJSC "UAC" :
