Tupolev Tu-160
| Tu-160 | |
|---|---|
| A Tu-160 flying over the Volga in 2014. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Supersonic strategic heavy bomber |
| National origin | Soviet Union/Russia |
| Designer | Tupolev |
| Built by | Kazan Aircraft Production Association |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | Russian Aerospace Forces Soviet Air Forces (former) Ukrainian Air Force (former) |
| Number built | 41 (9 test and 32 serial) |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1984–1992, 2002, 2008, 2017, 2021–present |
| Introduction date | April 1987 |
| First flight | 18 December 1981 |
The Tupolev Tu-160 (Russian: Туполев Ту-160 «Белый лебедь», romanized: Bely Lebed, lit. 'White Swan';[1] NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable heavy strategic bomber and airborne missile platform designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The aircraft is large, rather longer than a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress at 54 m, with wingspan 56 m when spread, 36 m when swept back. The Tu-160 is operated by the Long Range Aviation branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces.[2]
The Tu-160 entered service in 1987, the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Air Forces. It was built to serve as both a conventional and nuclear bomber. Production was stopped in 1992 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the newly independent Russian and Ukrainian air forces inherited a fleet of 13 and 19 Tu-160s, respectively. Following protracted negotiations, eight Ukrainian Tu-160s were purchased by the Russian Federation while the remaining 11 were scrapped in the late 1990s under the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement. Following these actions, the sole operator of the aircraft type became the Russian Aerospace Forces' Long Range Aviation branch, which still had 17 Tu-160s in service as of 2022.[3] The type had its combat debut in November 2015 during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, conducting numerous airstrikes using Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. Various overseas deployments have been conducted, including to distant nations such as Venezuela and South Africa.
Since the early 2000s the active fleet has been subject to several upgrades, largely focusing on various electronics systems. A program of modernising existing aircraft to a new Tu-160M standard and building new aircraft was embarked upon, with the first updated aircraft delivered in December 2014. Plans were announced in 2015 for the delivery of 50 new-built Tu-160Ms and the upgrading of 16 existing aircraft.[4]
The new bombers are reported to have more sophisticated armament, engines, and avionics than the original Tu-160. In January 2022, the first newly-built Tu-160M performed a test flight,[5] with two new aircraft planned for delivery in 2022[6] of ten on order.[7][4]
- ^ "The upgraded Tu-160 performed its first flight". Russian Aviation. 27 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Largest military aircraft by weight, operational bomber". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Все бомбардировщики Ту-160 модернизируют". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Russia flies newbuild Tu-160M bomber". Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ "Первый вновь построенный ракетоносец Ту-160М совершил дебютный полет". 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Два Ту-160М пополнят дальнюю авиацию РФ в 2022 году". 4 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Построенный "с нуля" стратегический бомбардировщик Ту-160М совершил первый полёт - "Ростех" -". Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2022.