Tu-160M2: “Practically a new plane under the hood”

Russian military officials have announced that the Tu-160M2, a thoroughly modernized upgrade of the well-known Tupolev Tu-160 supersonic heavy strategic bomber, will make its first flight in 2018. Commenting on the prospects for the new plane, National Interest magazine defense editor Dave Majumdar explained what it was that makes it so special.

Russian Tu-160M2 Bomber May Make First Flight by End of 2018 On Thursday, Russian Aerospace Defense Forces Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev told reporters that the first Tu-160M2 would take off “by the end of 2018,” with full-scale production beginning in 2021. This is two years ahead of an earlier Defense Ministry estimate, which assumed that production would begin only in 2023. The Defense Ministry plans to purchase at least 50 Tu-160M2 aircraft for the country’s air force.

What’s so special about the new aircraft?

A lot of things, says National Interest magazine defense editor Dave Majumdar. The journalist began by pointing out that while the Tu-160M2 “more or less retains the same airframe” as its predecessor, it’s really “practically a new aircraft under the hood.” “The new bomber will feature completely new mission systems and possibly be powered by upgraded versions of the existing Kuznetsov NK-32 afterburning turbofan”.

Moreover, media reports had earlier indicated that the plane would be equipped with advanced integrated modular avionics, a new on-board defense system, new weapons controls and electronic warfare systems, new fuel use monitoring systems, and a gimbal-less inertial navigation system, improving the latter’s reliability and lowering costs. Majumdar noted that many analysts believe that the new aircraft is set on becoming “the backbone of the Russian strategic bomber force of the future.”

Moreover, according to the journalist, “Moscow can make do with the upgraded Tu-160M2 for its strategic bomber force because unlike the United States Air Force, the Russian Air Force does not expect the massive aircraft to penetrate into enemy airspace to deliver its payload.”

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