The first modernised Tu-160M bomber arrived at Zhukovsky
On 10 March 2021, the PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (part of the Rostec Corporation) handed over the first modernised Tu-160M missile carrier. The aircraft was flown by a crew, commanded by Anri Naskidyants, from the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ). It landed at the Zhukovsky base near Moscow. This strategic bomber, equipped with new NK-32-02 engines and upgraded onboard avionics and sensors, already passed the factory tests and now has been transferred to the Tupolev flight test base for the next stage of flight tests.
The first prototype of the modernised Tu-160M was converted from a Tu-160S series vehicle with serial number 4-05 and tail number 14 Red. The Tu-160M, registered RF-94103 and named Igor Sikorsky, is the second oldest Tu-160 in service with the Russian Federation - Aerospace Forces (RF VKS).
This aircraft made its first flight in 1988 and is one of eight Tu-160s saved from the Ukraine in 1999. Previously it served in the former 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment in Priluki with tail number 22. The first flight as Tu-160M took place on 2 February 2020, after the completion of the upgrade at the KAZ plant which is a branch of the PJSC Tupolev, but the full configuration with new NK-32-02 engines was not finished until 3 November 2020.
Externally, the Tu-160M aircraft can be recognised by the absence of the OPB-15T Groza optical-electronic sight under the cockpit, which was used for precision bombing in poor visibility conditions on the Tu-160S. Another giveaway of the Tu-160M version is a massive fairing of the new electronic warfare system in the tail section.
Currently, Russia has plans to upgrade all fifteen serving Tu-160s to the new Tu-160M configuration. These aircraft will then serve alongside new-built Tu-160M2 bombers. A total of ten Tu-160M2s have been contracted thus far, with additional two dozens to be ordered in the near future, bringing the total number of active White Swans to fifty examples.
Photo: via forums.airforce.ru