Tu-160M2
The Tu-160M2, as part of a deep modernization, received new flight and navigation equipment, an on-board communication complex, a control system, a radar station, and an electronic countermeasure complex. In addition, it was planned to arm the Tu-160 family aircraft with Dagger hypersonic missiles. The newly constructed planes and those created on the basis of Tu-160 bombers taken from the Aerospace Forces will not differ from each other, but technically they received different markings in the military department: Tu-160M ??for modernized combatant units and Tu-160M2 for those built from scratch.
On January 25, 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced the contract for the modernization of 10 Tu-160 strategic bombers to the Tu-160M2 standard, to be fulfilled by the Kazan-based S.P. Gorbunov Aviation Plant belonging to the Tupolev Aviation Company, and with the aircraft to be delivered by between 2023 and 2027. The ceremony was marked by a test flight of the first thusly modernized aircraft, named Pyotr Deynekin after the Russian Federation’s first Air Forces’ Chief of Staff.
The order was just the beginning of the modernization and expansion of the Tu-160 bomber force, as the MOD plans to obtain 50 Tu-160M2s by 2035. While some of these aircraft will have been modernized machines either built in the Soviet era or completed in more recent decades using incomplete fuselages constructed already in the 1980s, the rest will be brand-new aircraft. Since the Long-Range Aviation currently operates only 16 Tu-160 bombers, including 5 upgraded Tu-160M1, all of which are based at the Engels airbase near Saratov as part of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, the proposed expansion of the fleet means the Tu-160 will displace the Tu-95MS as the most numerous strategic bomber in Russian service.
The prototype of the strategic missile carrier Tu-160M2 would rise for the first time in the air from the aerodrome of the Kazan aircraft plant in February 2018. This was reported on 09 November 2017 by a source in the Russian military-industrial complex. "The aircraft with factory number 804, made from the Soviet reserve, will be rolled out of the final assembly shop of the Kazan aircraft plant and transferred to the flight test station in November of this year. It is planned that in February of next year he will make the first flight from the airfield of this enterprise," he said. the interlocutor of the agency. He clarified that this "will be a combat vehicle capable of performing the same tasks as those of the 16 Tu-160s in service." "The 804th machine will later be upgraded to the Tu-160M2 variant," the source added.
Tupolev 160 Blackjack (also commonly known as the White Swan) is the world’s largest combat supersonic aircraft and the largest variable-sweep aircraft ever built. The strategic bomber’s maiden flight was on December 18th, 1981. It entered service in 1987. Its max. takeoff weight us up to 275,000 kg. The max speed is over 2,000 km/h. The aircraft carried up to 40,000 kg of ordnance including nuclear bombs and strategic cruise missiles. Its practical range with max ordnance exceeds 10,000 km.
Russia will renew the production of its Tu-160 (Blackjack) supersonic strategic bomber and missile carrier, Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said 29 April 2015. "Today it is already necessary to solve the task of not only maintaining and modernizing long-range aviation, we must also produce the Tu-160 missile carrier," Shoigu said during a visit at the Kazan Aviation Plant. The updated aircraft will be designated Tu-160M2. The Tu-160M2 differs from its antecedent in the sophisticated avionics and weapons suites earmarked for it. Essentially, it will be a new airplane with the old look.
At the beginning of the nineties, the enterprise retained for construction of four serial Tu-160s. Subsequently, two of them were used, whereas the fate of the other two remained uncertain until 2016. Then it was decided to use the assembled structures in the construction of the newest Tu-160M2. The existing backlog was returned to work, and there were reports of real results. On 11 July 2017, the unfinished airframe of the aircraft with the serial number "804" was transferred to the final assembly shop. In the near future the glider will receive all the necessary units and units, on-board equipment, etc. After the completion of the assembly, the first Tu-160M2 will be handed over for testing. The further fate of the last of the remaining stocks was not yet clear. All other bombers of the new type will be built anew.
During the MAKS-2017 airshow, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov announced the current schedule for the Tu-160M2 program. At the beginning of the next 2018, the first flight of the newest machine is planned. Subsequently, she will have to pass all the necessary tests, the results of which will carry out the necessary work. Serial production of new missile carriers is yet to begin in 2021. Each year the industry will have to hand over 3-4 aircraft to the armed forces. In total, it was planned to purchase about fifty bombers.
The first flight of a new modification of the strategic bomber Tu-160 can be held in 2019, Commander Air Space Forces (VKS) Russia Viktor Bondarev told reporters 02 March 2016. "I think that in 2019 the aircraft has already modernized and playback will start to fly," - he said, answering a question about the prospects for the resumption of production of the Tu-160.
In 2015 the decision was made to resume the production of Tu-160 in a modernized version - the Tu-160M2 - and move to the finalization of a new generation bomber PAK DA at a later date. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the serial production of Tu-160m2 was due to start in 2023. The Russian plan was to buy at least 50 of these machines.
In 2015 the decision was made to resume the production of Tu-160 is a modernized version of the completion of the transfer and the new generation bomber PAK DA at a later date. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that serial production was due to start in 2023. This FSI Russian plan to buy at least 50 of these machines.
PAK DA bombers, based on the Tupolev Tu-160, were expected to enter into service in 2023. Some say that the aircraft could be equipped with hypersonic weapons. The plane was also expected to be fitted with some equipment from the fifth-generation PAK FA fighter. In early February 2016, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov said that the modernized Tu-160 will have completely different characteristics compared with existing aircraft in this series. According to Borisov, the preparation of the industry to the production of upgraded bomber went according to plan.
United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) would begin technical re-equipment of the Kazan aircraft construction plant named after Gorbunov during 2016 to produce upgraded missile carriers Tu-160. This was announced by the president of KLA Yuri Slusar. "The modernization of the plant as the project has already started in 2016 - this is where we end up on the four draft design and obtain the conclusion of state expertise and begin to do activities technical upgrading," - said Slusar. He said one of the goals of the project was to get an aircraft factory at a higher technological level.
Technical re-equipment willcover about 40% of the equipment of workshops main production: aggregate-assembly and storage-stamping. The cost of upgrading the plant would amount to tens of billions of rubles in 2016-2020, respectively, which is comparable with the launch of new production aircraft.
The Missile carrier Tu-160M2 retains the external appearance, but the "stuffing" is a completely new, corresponding to modern military doctrine of Russia. Despite the persistence of the airframe, the avionics changes to 100%, which allows to increase the combat effectiveness of the aircraft by more than 2.5 times.
About 20 enterprises of Tatarstan, including "Kazan Helicopter Plant" and "Kamaz" would unite to resume production of the strategic bomber Tu-160 missile at the site of the Kazan aircraft construction plant named after Gorbunov. Th head of the Republic Rustam Minnikhanov told reporters "Kamaz will be used, and Kazan Helicopter Plant, and the enterprise of electronic industry, educational and research our structures About 20 companies we are involved in this project."
He recalled that Tatarstan had large enterprises for the production of aircraft, aircraft engines, electronics. The republic has high schools, which train specialists for the aircraft industry. "The solution for the revival of the Tu-160 would require a serious investment of intellectual, scientific, from the Republic, we are ready for it, I am sure that all issues related to the powers of the Republic, will be implemented." stressed the head of Tatarstan.
The new test stand for the Tu-160 equipment will increase its output to 50%. KLA President Yuri Slusar and Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov on 10 March 2016 signed an agreement in Kazan on cooperation between the United Aircraft Corporation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan.
"Agreement between the KLA and the Republic of Tatarstan is a basic document, which lays the foundation for our cooperation first and the main thing now. A project of restoration of the production of the Tu-160 aircraft at the Kazan aircraft plant, we restore production, interrupted 22 years ago, we very much hope to help republic ", said Slusar.
Yuri Borisov, Deputy Defense Minister, said 10 February 2016 that the Tupolev 160 strategic rocket aircraft production restart initiative goes as planned and the deadlines stay unchanged.
It was announced that the Tupolev 160 production will be resumed in 2023 at the latest. Yuri Borisov notes that there are still issues with the industry. “Collaboration has not been properly deployed yet. We as the customer have executed all the contracts with OAO Tupolev, the chief contractor. Now it’s high time to monitor the work progress”, Sputnik International quotes the Deputy Defense Minister as saying.
“We watch the works almost in real time. There are video cameras installed at the production facilities, and we use video conferencing to check the progress”, Yuri Borisov noted.
KRET is developing the avionics suite for the upgraded Tupolev 160. The new suite is expected to be ready by 2020. The upgraded aircraft will feature the integrated modular avionics to be subsequently used on the PAK DA next generation strategic bomber project. Under the Tupolev 160 upgrade program KRET is to develop new airborne computers and other systems, monitoring tools, electronic warfare equipment, fuel gauging, and weapons control systems. KRET will also deliver the newest platformless inertial navigation system which is able to navigate the Tupolev 160 without satellite signals. It significantly boosts the aircraft combat performance when the enemy uses electronic warfare systems, or the navigation satellites are off.
In August 2016, the Russian Aerospace Forces said the bomber may make its maiden flight as early as late 2018. "For now, the baseline number remains the same, but it can be adjusted as we are continuing work on the advanced long-range aviation complex (PAK DA). The current baseline figure for the Tu-160M2 is 50 aircraft," Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said 13 October 2016 after holding talks with enterprises working on the project. Current work involved improving the plane's technical specifications, especially its weight parameters, he added, noting that its serial production may start around 2020-2021.
Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) plans batch manufacturing of upgraded Tu-160M2 strategic bombers in 2022 of up to 50 units per year, UAC President Yuri Slyusar said 11 Apri 2017. "We are ending experimental design work in 2021, starting in 2022 we begin serial production of these machines," Slyusar told the Rossiya-24 broadcaster. He estimated that UAC would build from 30 to 50 of the bombers annually, noting that talks were underway with buyers on the specific number. By the end of the Cold War the Soviet Union fielded about 200 heav bombers, and by 2015 the inventory had fallen to less than 80. A production rate of 50 per year would only last two to four years to reproduce these numbers, while a production rate of 30 per year would last from three to seven years. Teh 50 aircraft objective reported in October 2016 would require 12 to 18 months at these production rates.
On November 16, 2017, the ceremony of rolling out of the strategic missile carrier Tu-160 with the serial number 0804, manufactured at the Kazan aircraft plant, took place. On the same day, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the first flight of this car was scheduled for February 2018.
This aircraft launched test flights in January 2018, a source in the Russian defense industrial complex told TASS 24 January 2018. "The 804th vehicle, built from the Soviet reserve, first took off in the air last week and has been carrying out test flights since then.To the end of this year, the missile carrier will be transferred to the military reconnaissance aircraft," the source said. Commenting on the reports of various media, the source specified that the new aircraft is not an experimental model of the modernized version of the bomber. "Only a small modernization was carried out on the plane, the glider and engines remained the same." The fully-digitized documentation for the new missile carrier will be released no earlier than the middle of this year, and without it, construction of the Tu-160M ??is impossible, "the source explained.
By 2023, the Armed Forces of Russia will receive four new Tu-160M2 strategic bomber. Such data was contained in the report of the leadership of the Kazan Aviation Plant to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu, who visited on the enterprise of PJSC "Tupolev" on 30 January 2019. It was noted that the Tu-160M2 is an absolutely new machine with tactical and technical characteristics, which have no equal in the world in almost all indicators and are not expected in the foreseeable future. The company clarified that the first aircraft, the airframe ["glider"] of which was made in Soviet times, is already flying, and by the end of 2022 three more brand new TU-160M2 will be handed over to the customer.
The Russian Ministry of Defense does not exclude an increase in purchases of Tu-160 strategic missile carriers. This was stated 13 May 2019 by Russian President Vladimir Putin, talking with the workers of the Gorbunov Aviation Plant in Kazan. "We signed a contract for 10 cars at the beginning of last year. Another 10 Tu-160s will be modernized. And, maybe, we will even increase the number of <...> given the fact that the Tu-160 is actually becoming a completely new car, with huge the capabilities required by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Defense does not exclude an increase in the contract for the future, "Putin said, talking to the workers of the plant, a branch of PJSC Tupolev.
Built from scratch in modern Russia, the Tu-160M strategic missile carrier made its first flight. This was reported to journalists on 12 January 2022 in the press service of the state corporation "Rostec". "On January 12, the first newly manufactured Tu-160M strategic missile carrier made its first flight from the airfield of the Kazan Aviation Plant - a branch of Tupolev (as part of the UAC of the Rostec state corporation)," Rostec said. They also clarified that the flight of the aircraft took place at an altitude of 600 m and lasted about 30 minutes. The crew of test pilots of PJSC "Tupolev" performed maneuvers to test the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air.
The General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar, quoted by the press service of Rostec, said that the percentage of updated and modernized systems and equipment in the Tu-160M missile carrier reaches 80. "In the new vehicle, systems and equipment have been updated and modernized by 80%," he said. Slyusar stressed that the Tu-160M is one of the largest and most high-tech projects in the aviation industry. "The implementation of this program required not only the renewal of production facilities, but also the creation of a fundamentally new digital environment for working on the project. A number of aircraft design bureaus participated in the preparation of digital documentation in the interests of the project. The fundamental importance of today's event is that the new machine is completely built from scratch, from scratch," he said.
One new and one modernized Tu-160 strategic missile carrier will be produced in 2022, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yury Borisov told reporters 22 Marchh 2022 during a working trip to the Kazan Aviation Plant. S. P. Gorbunova (branch of Tupolev PJSC). "At the same time, we inspected and compared watches for the production of military aviation. Kazan, as you know, is the main plant - the manufacturer of strategic aviation for our Air Force. Here, thank God, everything is going according to plan, production is ready. This year we expect one modernized and one new Tu-160 aircraft. I think that here the plant has already fully prepared production," he said. During the visit, the vice-premier inspected the production areas of the aviation plant and discussed its further production plans. Earlier it was reported that two Tu-160Ms equipped with new types of weapons will replenish the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation in 2022.
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