The new version of the Tupolev Tu-160 is equipped with new turbojets and new systems.
- The Tu-160M2 will fly in February 2018 -
The modernized version of Blackjack is destined for its first flight in February 2018. The 16 Tu-160s currently in service will be upgraded to the M2 standard, to which will be added 50 new Tu-160M2s.
The prototype of the modernized version of the Tu-160 ("Blackjack" according to the NATO code) called Tu-160M2 will fly for the first time in February 2018. The aircraft, which has the factory number 804, has already made its exit from factory of the Kazan assembly line and will be delivered this month to the flight test center.
The first flight will take off from the airport runway of the Kazan factory. 804 is actually a Tu-160 that will be upgraded to the modernized M2 standard. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that mass production would begin in 2023 and that the Russian Air Force intends to acquire no less than 50 aircraft. Russian Air Force Commander Viktor Bondarev previously said that the Tu-160M2 could enter service by the end of 2018.
The supersonic quad-jet engine with variable geometry, designed under the Soviet era, is a strategic bomber capable of carrying cruise missiles that can themselves be armed with nuclear warheads. The Russian air force operates at the moment 16 Tu-160 produced during the Soviet period. All these devices are likely to be standard M2.
