RUSSIA CONFIRMS MORE TU-160 BOMBERS

by Vladimir Karnozov
JUNE 25, 2015, 7:37 AM
HTTP://WWW.AINONLINE.COM/AVIATION-NEWS/DEFENSE/2015-06-25/RUSSIA-CONFIRMS-MORE-TU160-BOMBERS

Russia will eventually produce 50 more Tu-160M swing-wing

intercontinental supersonic bombers, said Russian air force commander Gen.
Victor Bondarev. The supreme commander and the defense minister have
made the decision to restart production, he continued. Speaking to the
media, Bondarev said that 50 is the number required to justify the expense
of reviving the line.
His remarks follow those of defense minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu during his
recent inspection of the Kazan Aircraft Production Organization (KAPO).
A prototype of the Tu-160 made its maiden flight in December 1981, and
deliveries began in April 1987. The type was in production at KAPO from 1984
through the early 1990s, when funds dried up following collapse of the Soviet
Union. In the new century the factory was able to complete only a couple of
new aircraft, from parts manufactured earlier.
Of 36 examples built, 16 Tu-160s remain active with the Russian air force.
They are undergoing a mid-life upgrade and modernization program. This
effort will be complete in 2019, according to Boris Naishuler, director of the
design center at KAPO. He further said that the first phase of the program
(officially launched in 2012) has been completed. The second phase, which
runs through 2019, calls for replacement of almost all the existing radio
electronic equipment in operational aircraft with new hardware. During this
process, all non-Russian-made equipment (that originated in the former
Soviet republics, now independent states) will be replaced with
Russian substitutes.
As part of the Tu-160 revitalization effort, Russias United Engine Corp
reworked the bombers Kuznetsov NK32 engine (it received a new gas
generator) and re-launched production. An initial batch of newly built NK32s
will be delivered to MoD late next year.