Russian President Vladimir Putin was today on a flight with the Tu-160M, a modernized strategic bomber that can carry nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. According to the agency, this is a move that the West may perceive as a clear reminder of Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
The large, variable-wing aircraft, nicknamed the Blackjack by NATO, is an updated version of a Cold War-era bomber that the former Soviet Union could use in a nuclear war.
Putin, who is expected to win another six-year term next month, was on the flight at a time when relations between Moscow and the West have soured over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Some Russian and American diplomats say they don’t remember relations between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers ever being worse than they are now, even during the Cuban nuclear crisis.
State television showed footage of the plane taking off from a runway owned by a factory in Kazan where the advanced supersonic jet is made. According to the correspondent on the ground, Pavel Zarubin, this is a “unique event”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the plane’s route was a military secret, but the flight lasted about 40 minutes, TASS reported.
The Tu-160M, with a crew of four, can carry 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles and can fly 12,000 km on a single charge.
Putin, 71, boarded an older version of the plane in 2005 during training. According to a contract signed in 2018, 10 modernized Tu-160M nuclear bombers should be delivered to the Russian Air Force by 2027 and their value is 15 billion rubles ($163 million).
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