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Russia's defense industry

Rostec breathes new life into production of Tupolev-160 strategic bombers — CEO

The upgraded Tu-160M has inherited the look and shape of its predecessor, but boasts a completely new technological base and digital solutions

© Kristina Kormilitsyna/POOL/TASS

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Resuming the production of the Tupolev-160 strategic bombers (NATO reporting name Blackjack) armed with cruise missiles was a great challenge, Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of the state corporation Rostec, has said. The affiliated enterprises have coped with this task well enough, he told the media, adding that currently the Tu-160M was one of the most powerful combat aircraft in the world.

"Restarting the production of Tu-160 was quite a task for all of Rostec’s affiliates. Design documentation was fully digitized within the tightest deadlines. The technique of vacuum welding of titanium parts was restored, and the production of airframe units was resumed. Today we can say confidently that we have succeeded in all respects," he said.

The upgraded Tu-160M has inherited the look and shape of its predecessor, but boasts a completely new technological base and digital solutions.

"Currently, it is one of the most powerful combat aircraft in the world," Chemezov summarized.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the S.P. Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant in Tatarstan and inspected four fundamentally upgraded strategic bombers.

The Tu-160 is the largest and most powerful supersonic aircraft with variable sweep wing in the history of military aviation.

The program for upgrading the Tu-160 was launched under the president’s personal decision. Under the government contract concluded between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Tupolev design bureau, the design documentation for the Tu-160M aircraft was fully digitized within a short period of time, the technique of vacuum welding of titanium products restored, and the production of airframe units was resumed. Rostec’s leading industrial enterprises in the field of metallurgy, aircraft design, engineering and instrument making revitalized their cooperation.

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Russian defense industry

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