Rostec delivered a modernized Tu-160M and a newly built Tu-160M to begin flight testing, a prerequisite for their acceptance for active service.
Rostec, the state-owned conglomerate that brings together Russia’s leading defense companies, reported the delivery of two Tu-160M strategic missile carriers (nicknamed White Swan, because of their graceful lines and white paint job). One of them, was a regular Tu-160 that underwent a thorough modernization to bring it up to the new M standard, and the other is an entirely new aircraft, built on the upgraded version.
«The Tu-160 is the most important part of the Russian nuclear triad, so modernization of combat vehicles and resumption of production of these strategic bombers is our priority task. The upgraded missile carriers outperform their predecessors in their characteristics, received new on-board radioleectronic equipment, NK-32-02 engines and other systems. In the coming years, the production of these machines will increase,» said Sergey Chemezov, general director of Rostec State Corporation.
The flight test station will conduct the necessary tests of the aircraft’s systems and engines, as well as on-board radioelectronic equipment, after which the aircraft will be transferred to the Russian Air Force. The intention is to build about 40 new units, at the rate of 2 to 3 Tu-160M per year.
The new White Swan
Virtually no information is available about the features and new capabilities of the Tu-160M, since a great aura of secrecy surrounds everything concerning this asset of fundamental importance to Russia’s deterrence strategy.
Russian government officials revealed very little. The cockpit was refurbished to modern standards and all on-board electronic equipment is said to have been replaced with new, more capable ones.
One of the new features acquired by the Tu-160M is the adoption of a tail radar that scans the rear hemisphere of the aircraft to detect approaching hostile aircraft or missiles.
Another of the innovative capabilities acquired, associated with the aforementioned, is that it will be able to carry a reverse-launch air-to-air missile. The Tu-160M bomber’s tail radar will detect approaching threats from the rear hemisphere, be they anti-aircraft missiles or approaching fighters, and shoot them down using its own air-to-air missiles. This could well be considered the first means of active self-defense system fitted to a warplane, something that only warships, and more recently some battle tanks and armored vehicles, had previously been able to rely on.
Last but not least, the Tu-160Ms, both new and modernized, incorporate new NK-32-02 engines, which introduce improvements in a significant number of parts and components resulting in an appreciable reduction in fuel consumption, which in practice means that the White Swan will have even greater range.
Second flight of the first new-build Tu-160M
Rostec also reported that during December the second test flight of the first prototype of the newly built Tu-160M was carried out, almost a year after its maiden flight.
See also: Decades after the collapse of the USSR, a new White Swan leaves the nest for the first time
As part of the test flight, maneuvers were performed to verify the aircraft’s stability and controllability in the air, the performance of the new systems and engines, as well as on-board radioelectronic equipment.
The Tu-160 is the largest and most powerful supersonic aircraft with variable wing geometry in the history of military aviation, and will remain so for several decades to come.
