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Putin says his flight in nuclear-capable Tu-160M bomber was unscheduled

The Russian president said his schedule was so tight he was only able to take the flight the next day, which he did

KRASNODAR, March 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his recent flight in a Tu-160M strategic bomber over the city of Kazan was unscheduled and he was advised against taking the flight as the aircraft hadn’t yet passed formal approvals.

"That latest flight - it was unscheduled," the president said as he was meeting with female graduates of the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School. "The defense minister says, 'You can’t fly it because we haven’t yet formally put it into service.' The defense industry says, "We haven’t yet formally delivered it."

"But when we came to the plant and inspected it, the aircraft’s commander told me: 'Vladimir Vladimirovich, we are ready. We could take off in two hours,'" Putin said.

He said his schedule was so tight he was only able to take the flight the next day, which he did.

The president recalled how he took a flight in the previous model of the bomber in 2005.

"It was a delight," Putin told the audience. "The transition to supersonic speed was imperceptible. You couldn’t even hear that boom," which happens when a plane breaks the sound barrier, he said.

The president praised the revamped nuclear-capable Tu-160M aircraft, saying, "The avionics, everything is new."

He said that the upgrade was proposed by the defense minister, despite objections from various sides.

"In fact, a new machine has been built. There is no other machine like this in the world," Putin said. "This is how we supported our nuclear triad."

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