| Tu-160 | |
|---|---|
 Tupolev Tu-160 in flight over Russia, August 2005 | |
| 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 |
| Number built | 41 (9 test and 32 serial)[citation needed] |
| 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 Tu-160 is operated by the Long Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.[2]
Entering service in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Air Forces and was built to serve as a conventional and nuclear-capable strike aircraft. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly independent Ukraine inherited a fleet of 19 Tu-160s, over half of all the Tu-160s in existence at that time. They had been deployed there since the late 1980s with local Soviet Air Force units and were soon afterwards handed over to the newly formed Ukrainian Air Force. Following protracted negotiations, 11 Ukrainian Tu-160s were purchased by the Russian Federation while the remainder were scrapped in the late 1990s under the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement. Following these actions, the sole operator of the type is the Russian Aerospace Forces' Long Range Aviation branch, which has 16 Tu-160s in service as of 2016.[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. The Tu-160M modernization program of existing models began with the first updated aircraft delivered in December 2014. Plans announced in 2015 called for the delivery of 50 new-build Tu-160Ms as well as the upgrading of 16 existing aircraft.[4][full citation needed] In January 2022, a newly-built Tu-160M performed a test flight,[5] the first of the resumed serial production, with two planned for delivery in 2022[6] from 10 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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Tu-160modernizationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 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.