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World Aviation Defense & Security News - Russia
 
 
Russian Air Force to receive six modernized Tupolev T-160M strategic bombers in 2015
 
Russia’s Long Range Aviation will get another 6 modernized strategic bombers Tupolev Tu-160 in 2015 and will bring the number of Tu-95MS bombers to 43, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Viktor Bondarev said on Tuesday, December 23.
     
Russia’s Long Range Aviation will get another 6 modernized strategic bombers Tupolev Tu-160 in 2015 and will bring the number of Tu-95MS bombers to 43, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Viktor Bondarev said on Tuesday, December 23. Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" strategic bomber
     
"In 2015, we will receive another 6 Tu-160 planes and bring the number of the Tu-95 up to 43,” Bondarev said.

Tu-160 from the mid 2000's started to take the upgrade to version Tu-160M, combined with capital improvements. During these events, in addition to extending the life of the aircraft, fully updated range of electronic equipment. The planes have the opportunity to apply the new shock weapons, including long-range strategic cruise missile Kh-101/Kh-102. By 2020, the Russian air force plans to have ten modernized T-160M strategic bombers.

The aircraft has a takeoff weight of up to 275 tons, has a top speed of more than 2000 kilometers per hour and can carry up to 40 tons of armament: free falling or guided aerial bombs of different calibers (including nuclear), strategic cruise missiles X-55 or aeroballistic missile X-15.

The Russian Long Range Aviation which marks the 100th anniversary of creation on Tuesday is armed with the Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers. According to previous reports, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) launched a program for these planes’ modernization. This year, pilots received after repair 9 strategic Tu-95MS and 9 long-range Tu-22M3, as well as one modernized Tu-160 bomber, named Andrey Tupolev.

Units of long-range aviation operate the strategic missile carriers Tupolev-160 and Tupolev-95MS, long-range strategic bombers Tupolev-22M3, refueling jets Ilyushin-78, special-task aircraft Antonov-30b, the transport turboprops Antonov-12 and Antonov-26, as well as Mi-8 and Mi-26 helicopters.

Russia’s next-generation strategic bomber — PAK DA (prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation) is to perform its first flight in 2019, according to previous reports. According to Commander of Russia’s Long Range Aviation Lieutenant General Anatoly Zhikharev, the new plane will be delivered to the army in 2023-2025.