MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The Russian state tech corporation Rostec is set to ramp up the production of Tupolev Tu-160M strategic missile-carrying bombers in the coming years, Rostec Chief Sergey Chemezov said on Friday.

"The Tu-160 is a major part of Russia’s nuclear triad and, therefore, the upgrade of the operational aircraft and the resumption of the production of these strategic bombers are our priority task. The upgraded missile-carrying bombers outshine their predecessors in terms of their characteristics and have received new onboard radio-electronic equipment, NK-32-02 engines and other systems. The production of these aircraft will be ramped up in the coming years," the press office of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) within Rostec quoted Chemezov as saying.

Another two Tupolev Tu-160M strategic missile-carrying bombers have entered flight tests, the UAC press office said.

"The next two Tu-160M strategic missile-carrying bombers engineered by the Tupolev Aircraft Company (part of the UAC within the state tech corporation Rostec) have been delivered for flight tests. These are the first serial-produced plane under the Tu-160M resumed production program and the operational aircraft that has undergone heavy modernization," the press office said.

Specialists at the flight testing station will check all of the bombers’ aircraft systems and engines and their onboard radio-electronic equipment, following which the aircraft will join Russia’s Aerospace Forces.

The Tu-160M (NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is an upgraded version of the Tu-160 bomber developed in the Soviet era and dubbed "the White Swan" among pilots. Along with the Tu-95MS bombers, these planes are the mainstay of the Russian Aerospace Force’s long-range aviation. The Tu-160M is the largest supersonic aircraft in the history of military aviation and the world’s heaviest warplane capable of carrying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. The Tu-160 was engineered in response to the Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber developed in the United States.

In April 2015, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu handed down an order to resume the production of Tu-160 bombers from scratch. The aircraft had to be heavily upgraded compared to the operational aircraft, which actually meant creating a new combat plane. The decision to restart the production of Tu-160 bombers was prompted, among other things, by the need to create a fundamentally new next-generation strike aircraft platform.